Change of political leadership in the Republic of South Africa: on the way to the policy of next generation

The research deals with the peculiarities of building the political course of the Republic of South Africa during the transitional period associated with the country's new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa. The author shows the trends of building country's political course and the development of international relations in South Africa. The attention is drawn to the relationship between domestic political development and the country's foreign policy. In relation to the study the South Africa is considered as an actively developing country-leader in its geopolitical region that is seeking to establish itself as an African leader in general, influencing world politics. The author defines the main directions of the policy of the Republic of South Africa during the transition period and identifies factors affecting the political course of the state. As a result of the study, it is concluded that the new leadership doesn’t change foreign policy preferences: building relationship with the African state remains an important course for the country's foreign policy. In addition, Cyril Ramaphosa is quite active in maintaining relations with the European Union and with the partners of the BRICS group, clearly not expressing preferences and trying to maneuver between the interests of all parties. The new president is going to correct the shortcomings of his predecessor and is not going to change the foreign policy course.