The cementing of ties between South Africa and the Mercosur
countries occurred at the time when the Cold War had just ended.
Characteristic of the post-Cold War environment is the
ascendance of socio-economic issues and the receding importance
of military issues. Thus, South Africa’s security relations with
Mercosur are rooted in the socio-economic sphere with limited
military interaction which is designed to facilitate trade links
and deal with potential trans-oceanic criminal activities such
as drug-trafficking, arms-smuggling, poaching and sea piracy.
This is in stark contrast with the pre-1994 relations between
South Africa and the South American states. Given the fact that
South Africa was regarded by the international community as a
pariah state owing to her unacceptable political system, it was
only prudent for South Africa to look for like-minded allies
across the South Atlantic Ocean. From the mid-sixties to the
early eighties, most South American states were under military
rule, thus providing an id