Recommendations
Prof. Peter Katjavivi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia
Riaan Eksteen reflects on his remarkable journey that took him from a diplomatic career under the previous South African dispensation to serving the new South Africa as an ambassador to several countries, including Namibia. As South Africa’s first ambassador to Namibia he worked with our government to lay the foundations of a new relationship between our two countries. He shows that it is possible to draw lessons from life, to convert challenges into opportunities, and to build friendship even with former political opponents.
- Peter Katjavivi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia
Prof. Dean Geldenhuys, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Johannesburg
From the vantage point of an active participant in various capacities, Riaan Eksteen chronicles the events, issues and personalities that helped to shape South Africa’s foreign relations and domestic politics over five decades. He makes a vital contribution to the country’s recorded diplomatic history and also provides fascinating insights into the political machinations of both the old and new South Africa.
- Deon Geldenhuys, Emeritus professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Johannesburg
Dr Heinrich Matthee, Senior Lecturer at the Hanze University, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Beyond Diplomacy is testimony to Eksteen’s professional approach. The versatile Eksteen was able to establish a wide diplomatic network and also a large circle of friends and associates within Southern Africa and internationally over decades. Anyone who reads Beyond Diplomacy attentively will take a fresh look at one of South Africa’s top diplomats.
- Dr Heinrich Matthee, Senior lecturer at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands, extraordinary professor at North-West University, and a non-resident researcher at the Emirates Policy Center, Abu Dhabi