Russia's Heroes 1941-45/Albert Axell

CITATION: Liebenberg, I. 2011. Russia's Heroes 1941-45/Albert Axell. Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, 39(2):152-159, doi:10.5787/39-2-118.The original publication is available at http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pubIt is seldom that one comes across a work where history-writing and qualitative research meet succinctly. Add to this an author who communicates crisply and relates real-life narratives that capture and hold the reader’s attention. This is such a work. The author read history but did more than that. Since 1960, Axell has interviewed dozens of veterans of all genders, from soldiers to marshals, who took part in the battles on the Eastern Front. Through his reading of history, close acquaintanceship with the Soviet Union and Russian-speaking society, and multiple interviews, Axell brings the experience of the individual and group up close and personal.http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/118Publisher's versio

Searching for reconciliation - the intricacies of the African experience

The experience of violence and life-after-violence is a universal one. It spans time and continents. Virtually every nation or social group was at some time or the other confronted by this. Examples all over the globe spring to mind. Uganda first had to live through the terror ofMilton Obote. Worse was to come under El Hadji Idi Amin in the 1970s. War amongst religious groups in Christian Europe divided and mauled millions to death in countries as far apart as Belgium, Ireland and Spain a couple of hundreds of years ago. One of these Christian conflicts persisted from 1179 until recently in Northern Ireland

Comparative international perspectives: the TRC in South Africa - some tentative observations

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: The TRC; Commissioning the Past, 11-14 June, 199

Sociology in practice: H W van der Merwe’s contribution to conflict resolution and mediation in South Africa

Conflict, repression and resistance had an alienating effect on a micro- and macro-level in apartheid South Africa. This brings to mind Hendrik Willem van der Merwe as a person who united South Africa’s enemies. This article explores auto-ethnographic insights in a discussion of his approach to mediation, involvement with the Centre for Intergroup Studies and his establishing of the South African Association for Conflict Intervention (SAACI). His approach differed from others at the time such as the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA). The value of his work is noted and further research advised. The article suggests that scholarly activism (or the activist scholar) is again needed to build peace and justice in the context of South Africa and our continent

(Trans-) grense, talighede, boeken bloedrefleksies

This contribution surveys recent works on the Border War /Angolan War (1960–1990). It contrasts writings by political theorists, media analysts and literary scholars with works written by soldiers who fought in the war and recollections by embedded journalists. The article’s main focus is on Gary Baines and Peter Vale’s collection of essays entitled Beyond the Border War: New Perspectives on Southern Africa’s Late Cold War Conflicts (Unisa Press, 2008).&nbsp

The Quest for Liberation in South Africa: Contending Visions and Civil Strife, Diaspora and Transition to an Emerging Democracy

Introduction: Purpose of this contribution To write an inclusive history of liberation and transition to democracy in South Africa is almost impossible. To do so in the course of one paper is even more demanding, if not daunting. Not only does "the liberation struggle" in South Africa in its broadest sense span more than a century. It also saw the coming and going of movements, the merging and evolving of others and a series of principled and/or pragmatic pacts in the process. The author is attempting here to provide a rather descriptive (and as far as possible, chronological) look at and rudimentary outline to the main organisational levels of liberation in South Africa since roughly the 1870' s. I will draw on my own work in the field over the past fifteen years as well as other sources. A wide variety of sources and personal experiences inform this contribution, even if they are not mentioned here. Also needless to say, one's own subjectivities may arise – even if an attempt is made towards intersubjectivity.</p

Civil control over the security institutions in South Africa: Suggestions for the future and notes on replicating the experience in Africa

It is obvious that security institutions can play meaningful roles in preventing, managing and even resolving conflict. This can especially be the case when they operate in a democratic context, and when they are duly democratised in their own systems of organisation and ways of functioning. This article is based on the conviction that civil oversight of security issues and agencies is so important that it has to be institutionalised. A new mindset about security is therefore promoted. Transparency and accountability are strongly emphasised. Various recommendations are made and discussed, with regard to proper participation in policy making, observing, monitoring, overseeing and advising. The thrust of the argument is that institutions and organisations outside the state should be empowered to keep watch, sound warning signals, and ensure that the ever necessary security work is done in ways that are truly democratic, and therefore really effective

From the editors

Military science, like conflict, war and warfare from which the discipline derived its existence, is a broad and complex field of study. The focus of Scientia Militaria, the South African Journal of Military Studies, has always been driven by two key considerations. Firstly, an interdisciplinary approach to the study of all things military and, secondly, an understanding that, irrespective of how widely the study of military affairs, the idea of warfighting and the need to be effective in the use of military forces in the provision of security, remains at the heart of military sciences. This edition of the journal is a typical reflection of this focus

Into the future: Donkergat Military Training Area and the Langebaan Ramsar site

Militaries need natural areas for offensive and defensive combat-readiness programmes. Here soldiers, war machinery and munitions are employed to prepare forces to execute warfighting tactics. Integration of environmental considerations into military activities is a growing global challenge. This study is based on a qualitative approach underpinned by an extensive literature review. The potential for the contribution of the military to a sensitive and diminishing wetland on the West Coast of South Africa (SA) is addressed. Donkergat Military Training Area (DMTA) in the Western Cape province, SA, provides diverse, seaborne training and warfighting facilities for the South African Special Forces (SASF), a specialist branch of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). This facility borders the Atlantic Ocean and Langebaan Lagoon, a Ramsar site (no. 398). One of only 15 island ecosystems on the southern African coastline, lies within the boundaries of the area. Saldanha Bay was identified as an economic development node by the national government. The 4 Special Forces Regiment (4 SFR) is thus obliged to contribute to the conservation of these environmental assets. Industrial development includes Operation Phakisa by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) that envisages expanded aquaculture practices in Saldanha Bay. Developers of fish and bivalve farms are allowed up-scaling aquaculture operations. These result in the loss of ecological attributes of the Langebaan Lagoon Wetland system. In the study, we recommend that parts of DMTA should be incorporated in the Ramsar definition for the Langebaan Lagoon Wetland system. Ecosystem indicators monitoring bird life, water and sediment quality, fish and rocky intertidal macrofauna in the DMTA waters should be intensified. The DMTA as a benchmark ecosystem in the Saldanha Bay area will facilitate environmentally sound planning amidst recent developments. Integrating sections of the Langebaan Lagoon that is part of the DMTA into the existing internationally recognised wetland area, the military can contribute significantly to wetland conservation. Management of these areas should be formulated in a Military Integrated Environmental Management (MIEM) plan by incorporating international guidelines

Truth and reconciliation processes and civil-military relations: a qualitative exploration

This work narrates a qualitative sociological exploration with auto-ethnographic underpinnings. It deals with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC) as a contextual case among others. The thesis seeks to answer the question of whether countries following a TRC route did better than those that did not use TRCs, when it comes to establishing civil control over the military. The author's exposure and involvement in the process as participant, participant observer, observer participant and observer inform the study. With the SATRC as one cornerstone other cases reflected upon include Argentina and Chile (Latin America), Spain and Portugal (Southern Europe), Namibia, Nigeria and Rwanda (Africa).SociologyD.Litt. et. Phil. (Sociology