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Indeed, on the subject of Zimbabwe, the positions of the ANC and COSATU wereespecially polarised, with the union movement taking strong stances on Zimbabwe’scrisis, while the South African government preferred more muted options.Contrary to what may have been expected, the foreign policy of the new SouthAfrica, as crafted by the African National Congress in cooperation with theapartheid-era Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), did not depart in substancetoo far from the geopolitical thrust of the outgoing National Party (NP). As notedby Evans, “In a series of policy documents and statements during 1992-3, theleaders of the organisation ditched their long-standing commitment to ‘liberationpolitics’ and began the process of policy convergence with the New Diplomacy [ofthe outgoing NP]”. 207 This was facilitated by intensive international involvement inSouth Africa’s policymaking processes, and the Party’s concern not to lose foreigncommitment to its reconstruction plans. The ANC was also hamstrung by thetransitional arrangements it inherited. These included the Government of NationalUnity (GNU), which was in place from the first democratic election in 1994, untilthe close of the first Parliament in 1999. 208Nonetheless, the complexities of regional politics aside, the ANC stated at itsNational Conference in 1992, that “The foreign policy of a democratic South Africawill be primarily shaped by the nature of its domestic policies and objectivesdirected at serving the needs and interests of our people”. 209 It was re-iterated bythe Deputy-Director General of DFA in 2004, that South Africa’s internationalinvolvements in continental peacemaking initiatives, for example, were “anextension of South Africa’s domestic policy”, and aimed in the long-run “atpromoting the creation of wealth and peace and security in South Africa”. 210207 Graham Evans, “South Africa in Remission: the Foreign Policy of an Altered State”,The Journal of Modern African Studies, 34 (1996): 258. The New Diplomacy, crafted bythe then-Director General of DFA, Neil van Heerden, was a means for the National Partyto ‘lock-in’ South Africa’s commitment and hegemony in Southern Africa, by committingthe state to greater economic involvement, regardless, it was reckoned, of its politicalleadership.208 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 200 of 1993 (Interim Constitution).209 African National Congress, 1992. “Ready to Govern: Policy guidelines for ademocratic South Africa”, adopted at the National Conference, 28-31 May, 1992.Accessed online at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/readyto.html, on 7 January2010.210 Parliamentary Monitoring Group, 1999. “Minutes of meeting: Economic Affairs SelectCommittee: Briefing by the Department of Minerals and Energy and the Department of109