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the mid-1970s onward, with the assumption that aid from the developing world tothe developing world would be more sensitive to the needs and contexts ofdestination societies. However, Southern aid was found, with few exceptions, to beno less odious and top-down than aid from the advanced industrialised states. 692Likewise, ‘Southern’ forms of international engagement are often no different fromtraditional ‘Northern’ interventions. Activism by Southern states within otherdeveloping states should be seen in the context of the domestic and systemic,material and ideational, realities that frame these actions.South African engagement in Haiti has been premised on Haiti’s centrality in aparticular mythology of African self-determination and independence, as the firstindependent Black republic. Haiti’s physical distance from South Africa also meantthat the ANC government could give vent to its internationalist proclivities, whilefacing limited consequences domestically, both as a result of strident rhetoricregarding the situation, and of the covert offers of assistance to Aristide’sgovernment. The government also found itself acting within the framework of an‘African’ response to the crisis, formed both by the like-mindedness of otherAfrican states on the issue, and by the importance of the African Diaspora in theofficial discourse of the African Union. This was a vital source of support for itsactions, that they be seen as legitimate by African states.South Africa’s response therefore had a mixed resonance within South Africa. Itsrelevance was almost purely symbolic, given the undertones of anti-imperialism andsolidarity with a fellow developing country. Domestic political considerations workin two ways: on the one hand, they provide or withhold legitimacy for controversialinternational engagements. On the other, meanwhile, they are themselves influencedby international action that may bring praise or recognition for the government ofthe day. In this case, the decision to engage in Haiti was largely insulated frompublic scrutiny, thereby averting most of the criticism it might have attracted, untilAristide arrived in the country.692 Donald Bobiash, South-South Aid: How developing countries help each other. (NewYork: St. Martin’s Press, 1992).267