South Africa and the nascent NPT, 1967–68

This article examines South Africa’s position on the nascent Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty against the backdrop of its lucrative uranium trade, increasing international isolation due to its apartheid policies and continued occupation of South West Africa, the growing influence of the vocal Afro-Asian Bloc and a blooming civil nuclear programme. Pretoria criticised the proposed safeguard systems as ambiguous and consistently portrayed the treaty as discriminatory, hypocritical and a threat to the sovereignty of non-nuclear-weapon states. The article argues, however, that this posturing was a diplomatic façade at a time when Pretoria sought to preserve strategic flexibility in an increasingly hostile African continent. It therefore adopted a policy of hedging, challenging key aspects of the emerging NPT-centred nuclear order while avoiding commitments that would constrain its future choices.