The South African military and peacekeeping: Reflections on conditions, capacity-building and prospects

The original publication is available at http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pubSince the advent of a new dispensation in South Africa, expectations in Africa and elsewhere have steadily grown regarding South Africa's potential role as a peacekeeper in African conflicts. In fact, South Africa has been identified by many observers as the one state able to ensure effective peacekeeping on the African continent. On paper, South Africa's military capabilities appear impressive in terms of African standards. However, in reality there are current impediments to a major role for the South African military in Africa, of which the delicacy of the ongoing transformation process of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and financial constraints are significant. Moreover, it would seem that South Africa has thus far preferred the role of diplomatic peacemaker to that of forceful peacekeeper.Publisher's versio

The emerging South African profile in Africa: Reflections on the significance of South Africa's entrance into peacekeeping

Since the political transformation in South Africa in 1994, there has been a steady growth in expectations in Africa and elsewhere regarding South Africa's role as a peacekeeper in African conflicts. With its participation in two peace missions of the United Nations (UN) in Africa, the country now seeks to take up its rightful role in international peacekeeping, both politically and militarily. It can rightly be stated that South Africa's engagement in peacekeeping is of great interest from a foreign policy and security point of view. This paper endeavours to discuss South Africa's emerging profile in Africa. Especially, it attempts to reflect and comment on the significance and importance of the country's contributions to multinational peacekeeping

Maintaining international peace and security : reflections on peace-support operations in Africa

CITATION: Neethling, T. 1998. Maintaining international peace and security : reflections on peace-support operations in Africa. Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, 28(1):111-137, doi:10.5787/28-1-202.The original publication is available at http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pubThe shift from a bipolar to a multipolar and multi-faceted world has reduced the risk of conventional inter-state wars, but has been the cause of several intra-state armed conflicts with an even higher risk of regional instability. Such conflicts and the resurgence of a global activism have produced a dramatic growth in peacekeeping requirements since the end of the previous decade. The international response, mainly through the United Nations (UN), has been to promote preventive diplomacy and, in a number of cases, to conduct peace-support operations. In brief, this paper points out that each UN peace-support operation places an extremely high premium on UN administration, organisation, coordination and resources. To this end, a multiplicity of contributions from various role-players is needed. It also points out that peace-support operations require significant commitments on the part of participating states, specifically the willingness to accept financial costs and fatalities in the interest of promoting international and regional stability. This is especially true in the case of African peacekeeping. This paper, furthermore, underscores the fact that the undertaking of peace-support operations in Africa is by no means a simple and easy task. The nature of peacekeeping missions in certain African countries have, in fact, resulted in an increasing reluctance on the part of the major powers and some of the other traditional troop-contributing nations to deploy on African soil. It concludes that the real impact of the post-Cold War era is that the burden of resolving African conflicts rests more and more on Africans. African countries and organisations are accordingly compelled to take measures and develop strategies to address the peacekeeping requirements on the continent.http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/202Publisher's versio

An investigation of the implications of the decision to close the abalone fishery and the impacts on abalone rights holders in Kleinmond, South Africa

Thesis (M.Phil. (Environmental Management))--University of Cape Town, 2008.Inludes bibliographical references (leaves 159-172).The overall aim of this dissertation is to investigate the implications of the decision toclose the abalone fishery and the impacts of this decision on abalone rights holders inthe Kleinmond community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This dissertation also looked at the role that marine resources play in the livelihoods of fishers and the impact of the closure on the livelihoods of rights holders. Potential opportunities and constraints associated with alternative livelihoods options for fishers were also identified

Book Review: Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War

Meisler, Stanley 2007; John Wiley & Son, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. 372pp. African Journal on Conflict Resolution Vol. 8 (3) 2008: pp. 111-11

The development of normative theory in International Relations: Some practical implications for norm-based and value-based scholarly inquiry

This article attempts to assess the development and significance of normative theory in International Relations as an academic discipline. It is pointed out that a revival of normative concerns and issues in International Relations has transpired in recent decades, and that many scholars in International Relations today accept a proposition that scientific knowledge and inquiry in the discipline and its application should be underpinned or directed by a defensible normative commitment. It is furthermore pointed out that normative theory and some practical manifestations of norm-based and valuebased scholarly inquiry in the discipline are a matter of great significance, since these issues relate to some moral and ethical dimensions of activities in the international community. The article concludes by asserting that the growth of normative theory in International Relations is also of great importance and significance for scholarly research from a Christian perspective

Establishing AFRICOM: Pressing questions, political concerns and future prospects

In the post-Cold War period, Africa did not constitute a top strategic priority for the U.S. A 1995 report by the Department of Defence (DoD) listed Africa at the bottom of the world's regions in strategic terms. In 1998, the National Security Strategy of the U.S. confirmed that America's security interests with regard to Africa were limited. Hence the tendency in the past was to relegate Africa to the periphery of American strategy.1 However, as Metz rightly argued some years ago, such an approach would not be wise: the U.S. does indeed have strategic interests in Africa. After all, from a U.S. point of view, serious transnational threats emanate from the region, including: state-sponsored terrorism, narcotics trafficking, weapons proliferation, international crime, environmental damage, and pandemic disease. Furthermore, Africa has been the scene of recurrent humanitarian crises, often as a result of intra-state armed conflict. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies Vol. 36 (1) 2008: pp. 31-5

The importance and significance of peace studies with special reference to South Africa’s political-security role in Africa

The origins of peace studies as an academic field of inquiry could be traced to the late 1940s and the field has been developing considerably since then. Currently, scholars at various tertiary institutions over the world are involved in using their academic skills to educate students about the causes of wars and violent conflict while pointing out various alternatives to these phenomena. Peace studies in the South African and broader African context are certainly of great significance and importance. After all, the gripping and devastating violence that manifested in African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC, Somalia, Angola, the Comoros and many other conflict-stricken areas warrant scholarly attention with a view to better understanding the causes, dynamics and effects of such conflict. By means of this understanding the conflict could be addressed through mechanisms of conflict resolution and peace building could be promoted. Furthermore, the South African Government’s progressive military involvement in international peace missions in recent years is far more than an issue of mere military concern. It is a matter of great political interest and significance. Being supportive of the need for peace studies in the curricula of South African universities (and African universities in general), this article argues that South African students should be exposed to a rich and comprehensive literature on the search for international peace and security; of how to understand and deal with the causes of large-scale conflict and violence; and how these could be curtailed and resolved ? literature which informs scholarly discussions and research in many centres and places of education, training and peace building

Beyond enrolment: academic incentives, outcomes and performance in higher education

This study examined incentives, academic outcomes, and student performance in the South African higher education (HE) sector using the University of Cape Town as a case study. The analysis was conducted using a dataset that stacked three cross-sections of first year entering students and tracked these students over time. The thesis comprises six chapters. The introductory chapter provides background content on the research. Chapter 2 presents an exploratory and descriptive analysis of the South African HE sectors over the period 2004–2015. It focuses on a descriptive analysis of key South African HE indicators and outcomes. The first objective was to evaluate access to HE by identifying the pool of potential entrants through an examination of the school-leaving cohort of each year. The second objective was to identify racial enrolment, progression, and completion patterns to observe whether significant changes occurred over the period. The author finds that the differentials in performance between racial subgroups have narrowed over time. White students are shown to have the highest student success rates at above 80%, and although other subgroups show some improvement, they do not catch up to these rates. A trend analysis of the data, however, provided support for a fall in the dropout rate for all students. This chapter also provides evidence for persistence in but slower progression through HE. Chapter 3 presents a way to consider and evaluate the Dean's Merit List (DML) incentive system in the context of an African economy. The author evaluated the impact of academic recognition policies, specifically the DML, on student outcomes. Using a regression discontinuity approach, the chapter shows that the DML as an academic incentive policy, has largely negative rather than the intended positive effects over the short- and long-term on academic performance in the South African context. The results indicate that the DML has an unfavourable impact on subsequent academic performance. Students who received the award tended to earn lower grade point averages in subsequent years than expected. The findings suggest that the DML does not reinforce academic achievement. These results appear to be counterintuitive but support Bénabou and Tirole's theoretical expectations regarding extrinsic motivation in a situation of asymmetric information between an agent and principal. Chapter 4 investigates student performance over time by introducing a ranking variable of student achievement. The main finding is that race, gender, and performance on final school leaving examinations are important determinants of academic achievement. Female students outperform male students across the distribution of grade point average, and this finding is consistent with the growing international literature. Chapter 5 presents detailed evidence on the determinants of academic outcomes using discrete-time methods for competing risks survival analysis. An important contribution of this chapter is studying the determinants of dropout and graduation in HE in the context of an African country. While graduation is the preferred route of exit, voluntary and involuntary exit before completion remain prominent for a significant number of students. Interestingly, and contrary to other international studies, the author did not find support for financial aid status contributing to either voluntary dropout or graduation, even after controlling for academic and socio-economic background factors. Students on academic programmes are shown to be more likely to be involuntarily excluded and less likely to graduate or voluntarily exit HE then mainstream students. This is a cause for concern as these programmes are an initiative intended to address transformation and equity in, HE, attracting significant resources from within and outside universities. Chapter 6 summarises and presents policy discussions. Overall, the study shows that one-size-fits-all policies within the same institution applied across heterogenous faculties do not achieve their desired outcomes in the South African HE is setting. Considerable thought should be given to the nature of recognition policies as other basic requirements, such as course progression criteria, tend to crowd out the desired incentive effects of recognition policies. In addition, academic administrators should consider programmes that promote a decrease in outcome disparities in HE, including establishing more and expanding academic development programmes

Peacekeeping in Africa: Reflections on developments and trends

Africa is arguably the most important regional selling for United Nations peacekeeping challenges. Hence, Africa is the first continent where extensive efforts have recently been made between the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity with the specific aim of enhancing the management of conflicts in the region. It is significant that the UN now seems prepared to form partnerships with willing regional organisations and alliances in Africa with regard to the conducting of peace-support operations. At the same time, the United States and certain European nations have begun to support the idea of an African response capability of some kind. Another significant development relates to the fact that sub-regional organisations in Africa have started to feature as important peacekeeping instruments in recent years as it has increasingly been accepted that there is a need for such institutions to take care of their own security requirements. In this regard, the “indigenous" intervention operations without UN endorsement or involvement in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Lesotho are of particular interest, as these would seem to represent a new dimension in the management of African peacekeeping requirements. What is needed in the African context is to establish an acceptable basis for involvement or intervention in intra-state conflicts that respects the dignity and independence of stales without sanctioning the misuse of sovereign rights to violate the security of people within a stale's borders. It would therefore be desirable that all the roleplayers in Africa and further afield should develop a set of broad principles to respond appropriately and speedily to situations where the security of people is imperilled