South Africa in the contemporary international economy: India's competitor or ally?

New Economy cannot be characterised by the high technological applications to production, distribution and consumption alone. Its other salient dimension is South-South economic and political alliances. In the evolving international political economy, a small group of middleincome developing countries are actively challenging established international structures and regimes. While the success of IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) as an economic or ideological strategy of the South is far from proven, its impact on South Africa-India relations in particular is tangible. Since South Africa occupies a unique position in Africa, the analysis follows a detailed layout of the South African economy since 1994. This article assesses South Africa's trajectory of economic development by analysing local, regional and global contexts within which the South African economy operates in order to understand the unique position of South Africa on the continent and in the global South. The article also explores the impact of these changing contexts on the South Africa-India bilateral relationship, within and beyond IBSA.