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eforms undertaken in the mid-1980s. It fell to de Klerk to complete the power shiftand reduce the influence of the State Security Council in the foreign policymakingdecision-making process. This held major significance for the political future ofSouth Africa, as it reduced the influence of ‘hawks’ in government decision-making.But why, armed with this sense of mission, the ANC’s heritage as Africa’s foremostliberation movement and a fair amount of international goodwill, did South Africanot always act in accordance with the expectations its policies generated? In order toanswer this question, it is necessary first to interrogate the internationalist history ofthe ANC and its early years in government.5.2. ANC’s foreign policy evolution and its critics: institutional freedom andlegitimating power5.2.1. Old wine into new bottles: External Mission into ‘national’ missionOne of the key observations about the African National Congress in the closingyears of apartheid and its aftermath is the organisation’s struggle, not unlike otherAfrican liberation movements, to conduct the transformation to political party. 354This observation holds resonance for the ANC’s conduct of foreign policy becauseit speaks to the enduring perceptions utilised by key foreign policy decisionmakersin all of the ANC administrations since the end of apartheid. This section traces theevolution of the foreign policy positions of the African National Congress, withspecial reference to the closing years of apartheid and the early years of its role asthe governing party of South Africa.What are the key perspectives of the African National Congress on South Africanforeign policy, and how has the organisation’s recent history influenced theseperceptions? This section argues that the nature of the ANC’s international agencyin exile; and, the variable and intermingling cultures of the organisation in recentdecades, have resulted in a particular organisational outlook, and specific354 See Marina Ottaway, Marina, “Liberation Movements and Transition to Democracy:The case of the ANC”, The Journal of Modern African Studies, 29, No.1 (1991); and onforeign policy specifically, Chris Alden, “From liberation movement to political party: ANCforeign policy in transition”, South African Journal of International Affairs, 1, No.1 (1993).154