New US Ambassador appointment may result in a more volatile diplomatic landscape in South Africa

Brent Bozell III has been sworn in as US Ambassador-designate to South Africa. The appointment of Leo Brent Bozell III as the United States ambassador-designate to South Africa will likely lead to a more volatile and assertive diplomatic arena, according to international relations experts. The US Embassy in South Africa on Friday confirmed that Bozell III has been sworn in as the United States ambassador-designate to South Africa.

“He will formally assume his duties following the presentation of his credentials to the Government of South Africa,” the embassy stated. The next step of Bozell’s diplomatic journey is expected to be to officially present his Letters of Credence to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government of South Africa, in line with diplomatic protocol. Experts said that this will be an interesting time, given that then SA ambassador designate, Mcebisi Jonas, was not welcome in the US but South Africa will definitely welcome Bozell.

Professor Isaac Khambule from the University of Johannesburg said that despite the current climate, the government is likely going to welcome Bozell “because I think they do not want to cause any further tension between South Africa and the US”. He added that while issues such as the Lady R vessel likely will not rear its head again, Bozell will have a specific mandate that he will be pushing. “South Africa seems to be aligning with Russia, China and Iran, (from the naval drill) and all the countries that are anti-US.

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We’ve heard Bozell also saying that he’s going to push for South Africa to drop the ICJ case, which again shows his goals when it comes to South Africa,” Khambule said. “If we look at the reconfiguration that is currently happening, the US are trying to bully everyone, but I don’t think that has been working in its favour because now it is more likely to cause a strain between its relations with the EU, and again this will go into what those in the Global South have been saying about the US conduct in international affairs.”

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