Masisi in desert geopolitics, emerging power aspirations

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has tested the country’s domestic resilience, as well as its ambitions for the role it desires to play in the emerging post-pandemic world. Like his predecessors, President Mokgweetsi Masisi is actively shaping Botswana’s foreign policy through a combination of his personal global outlook and the country’s long-standing values.

Any useful verdict on President Masisi’s performance on domestic matters is easy to deduce. But it has taken time and it has been complex to fully grasp his aspirations and strategic leanings on foreign policy, especially his appetite to translate dialogue into action. From the onset, it was obvious that the President had a global outlook that influenced how he sees the world and the tools he uses to drive Botswana’s ambitions in an uncertain world. The recent spate of regional trips to Namibia (twice in three weeks), Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Tanzania reignite questions of what the end goal may be. There are varied possibilities worth exploring, primarily circling Masisi’s keen appetite to engage with the region during a tough pandemic.