We Need Nandi-Ndaitwah on ForeignPolicy for Better Domestic Policy Outcomes

The world is becoming unpredictable, if not more dangerous.

Climate change, potential major wars, political conflict, artificial intelligence, cyber insecurity, democratic convulsions in older democracies, the rise of racism and economic distress are but a few of the dossiers the next president of Namibia will have to navigate as the country continues to develop its voice and seek opportunities in international affairs.

Thus,in the election of the next president, Namibians should consider the capabilities of the leader and the party they will elect in relation to threats, chaos and, of course, opportunities in international relations.

Opportunities can always be pursued relative to capabilities and capacities in the foreign policy establishment, which ought to be in constant evolution.

Chaotic international affairs aside, which, the Economist Intelligence Unit recently predicted will be turbulent and precarious in 2025, foreign policy is largely an arcane field in the vocabulary of candidates and manifestos of a majority of political parties in the opposition class.

True, all politics is local as the adage goes – but globalisation has fragmented the domestic versus external nexus.

MAKING THE CONNECTION

Borne out of its history as a liberation movement, Swapo has a long history as an effective actor in international affairs.

Now, as a party of government, it is unsurprising that in its election manifesto Swapo underlines eight foreign policy agendas which speak to the concerns of Namibians.

It is also unsurprising that in Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Swapo has fielded an industrious presidential candidate who, as minister of international relations and cooperation, was a highly competent trustee of our foreign policy, able to balance with conviction the ethical and effective outputs of our diplomatic and external economic actions. 

In that vein, Nandi-Ndaitwah stands head and shoulders above the rest of the presidential field in knowledge and execution of foreign policy.

She was minted in the hard-wired solidarity, justice and pan-Africanist traditions of the liberation movement.

But she also has the political and emotional intelligence to balance these through an understanding of our national interest and the evolution, if not revolution, of democracy across the globe.

Over the past two terms, president Hage Geingob pursued, alongside Nandi-Ndaitwah, a pacifist foreign policy, limiting our interventions in crises to peace, diplomacy and the civilian components.

They enhanced our prestige and soft power in international affairs.

President Nangolo Mbumba, who successfully helmed the pivotal United Nations Summit of the Future recently, has continued with these pacifist goals – where the focus is economic statecraft, while maintaining our commitment to our enduring foreign policy doctrines of peace, justice and solidarity.  

STABILITY AND PROSPERITY

Regrettably, outside Swapo and its presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, there is a lack of experience in statecraft.

Scant experience is one thing, but insufficient attention being paid to foreign policy as an electoral issue of importance in the governance of a country is another matter.

Yet, a president who is a good trustee of foreign policy (as opposed to an impulsive decisionmaker) is crucial in pursuit of the goals of stability and economic prosperity to which we have committed ourselves.

Two major reasons may explain this anomaly in opposition circles.

First, throughout the five-year cycle of a government in power, including the presidency, a handful of media outlets and newspapers, with the exception of New Era and the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation, take a serious interest in consistent reporting on Namibia in international affairs.

Second Namibia does not have a strong community of foreign policy scholars, experts, parliamentary committees and commentators with relevant training in international relations.

As we mature in voice and stature in international affairs, access to foreign policy is crucially important for ordinary Namibians.
Foreign policy is an extension of domestic interests and the type of president Namibians will elect on 27 November is central in the pursuit of economic prosperity through our external actions.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Whether we like it or not, for Namibia, a country that pursues small-state diplomacy, external events can affect ordinary Namibians in ways that are disproportionate to the country’s weight in international affairs.

In his fascinating book ‘Do Morals Matter: Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump’, the American scholar Joseph S Nye Jr reminds us that presidents are trustees with a fiduciary obligation to protect those who elected them.

What this implies is that Namibians will elect a president who, over the course of a term, will have to take decisions that may involve our armed forces in a war in advancement of our national security interests or the protection of civilians.

Thus, the ethics of a president, their emotional intelligence and experience matter greatly in the life and death decisions a head of state has to make in the conduct of political and economic statecraft.

AFRICAN SOLUTIONS

Namibia has certain immutable foreign policy doctrines in which African solutions are paramount and an exceptional commitment to multilaterism is articulated as an ethical defence against the unchecked power of the strong.

For a developing country, we need effective bilateral relations for better outcomes in education, health, economic investments and the existential fight against youth unemployment.

Strong foreign policy leadership will be required to advance our domestic
interests in a chaotic world.

Tomorrow, Namibians will have to elect a president with the ability to enhance the prestige of their country, with the discernible experience and commitment to pursue diplomacy for better domestic policy outcomes.

The choice is clear – in a turbulent world, Namibians need Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on foreign policy for better domestic policy outcomes.

• • Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari holds a PhD in International Relations from La Sorbonne in France. He serves as advisor and press secretary to president Nangolo Mbumba.