1948—1963年美国政府对南非的外交政策述评

Review of U.S. Foreign Policy towards South Africa from 1948 to 1963

冷战开始后,美国杜鲁门和艾森豪威尔政府均出于政治上借助南非抗衡苏联的冷战思维,对于南非国民党政府推行的种族隔离制度采取了偏袒性的折中主义政策。1961年,肯尼迪担任总统后面对第三世界国家觉醒、国内民权运动狂飙突进以及南非国内形势恶化等因素,基于现实主义和理想主义的双重考虑决定对南非政府执行包含实质性惩罚措施的有限制裁政策。该政策对于保护南非黑人和有色人种的人权,推动南非政治转型具有一定的积极作用,在美国对南非外交关系史上也具有重要意义。

After the outbreak of the Cold War,both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations adopted a partial eclectic policy towards the apartheid system maintained by the South African nationalist government out of using South Africa to counter the Soviet Union politically.In 1961,when Kennedy became President,he decided to implement a limited sanctions policy containing substantive sanctions against the South African government based on the dual considerations of realism and idealism in the face of the rise of the Third World,the domestic civil rights movement and the deterioration of the domestic situation in South Africa.The policy had played a positive role in protecting the human rights of South African coloured race and promoting the political transformation of South Africa.It is a milestone in the history of U.S.-South Africa diplomatic relations.