The former South African President who visited Zimbabwe a few days ago has left a lot of people speculating about the real reason behind his visit. The Herald has questioned if Mbeki is using quiet diplomacy in influencing a dialogue in Zimbabwe.
The Herald quoted a South African Scholar Kuseni Dlamini who wrote extensively on Mbeki and said Mbeki is known for using quiet diplomacy as his method. Dlamini defined quiet diplomacy as:
trying to influence the behaviour of others by secret negotiations or by refraining from taking a specific action
Kuseni Dlamini writing in Is Quiet Diplomacy an Effective Conflict Resolution Strategy? according to the Herald reportedly said:
Simply put, Pretoria is careful not to be seen to be throwing its weight around.
Mbeki came and spoke to different political players during his visit but never disclosed the reason behind his visit and the contents of his meeting which the publication is speculating as Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy.
More: The Herald