Union of South African States (SWM)

The Union of South African States (USAS, Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrikaanse State) is a political confederation occupying what is internationally recognized as the Republic of South Africa. The Union is officially a voluntary confederation or close alliance of twenty one independent nations centered around South Africa which exists for social, economic and political cooperation. The Union is not recognized by most nations outside of the Union itself, and is seen as an attempt at legitimizing the oppressive Apartheid ("Separate Development") ideology of the ruling Conservative Party and Afrikaner elite. Nations which do recognize the Union, such as Mozambique, do so nominally.

The Union was established on 18 August 2002 in response to the establishment of the African Union, which denied the Republic or any of the homelands (which are de jure independent states) entry into the continental alliance. The African Union allowed Lesotho and Swaziland - which never formed part of what is the Republic of South Africa - to join but condemned their participation in the USAS. Lesotho and Swaziland, which are more independent from South Africa proper in relative comparison to the homelands have been economically dependent on their Afrikaner controlled neighbor for decades, which essentially forced them to join the USAS.