Securitising humanitarian assistance and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa: A critical review of South Africa's new defence policy

The South African Defence Review 2014 is the country's new defence policy. The Review, which is expected to steer South African defence policymaking for the next few decades, discusses in detail the role of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in peace missions in Africa and proposes the direct involvement of the country's soldiers in both military and civilian tasks, from peacekeeping to humanitarian assistance, post-conflict reconstruction and development. This paper contains a critical review of the Review with regard to South Africa's envisaged contribution to regional and continental peace and stability. It is argued that humanitarian assistance and post-conflict reconstruction should not be securitised and that the SANDF should only be tasked with peacekeeping and the establishment of stability and security in fragile in-conflict and post-conflict settings. The humanitarian work should be left to humanitarian and aid agencies, while reconstruction and development should be left to organisations such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development, continental and international development organisations, and local actors.     

Early warning,the protection of civilians and United Nations peacekeeping operations

This commentary traces the increasing importance of early warning in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, an emphasis that has emerged in connection with the evolution of protection of civilians mandates in UN peacekeeping missions. It examines the current and emerging practice of early warning in UN peacekeeping as well as the challenges faced, drawing on case studies from the UN missions in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The authors also propose a set of basic principles upon which early warning in UN peacekeeping operations might be approached in the future.     

Women,peace and security in Africa

This article highlights and critiques the underlying conceptualisations and assumptions of the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda that emerged with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000. The main argument is that we need to rethink the WPS agenda to produce more holistic and groundbreaking responses for the types of challenges encountered, i.e., that gender inequality and insecurity are deep rooted and multi-layered, and thus negate mechanistic responses that do not deal with cultural and structural issues. It specifically focuses on gender and peace-making and gender and peacekeeping to point to the pitfalls in the current conceptions and practices in this arena.     

Factors influencing military recruitment in South Africa: the voices of Cape Town high school learners

This research sets out to establish how the youth in South Africa view military service, and what factors affect the ability of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to attract suitable recruits to staff its modern, technologically advanced military. Due to high levels of youth unemployment, South Africa has sufficient persons volunteering for military service. The problem lies with recruiting sufficient quality personnel with the right profile and abilities. To establish what affects enlistment, focus group discussions were conducted with learners from eight schools to determine what influences their career choices, what deters them from or attracts them to military service, their perception of the military profession, their knowledge of the military, and the influence of factors such as race and gender. The conclusion is reached that the SANDF is not considered an employer of choice due to poor service conditions, a decline in the prestige of the military, unfavourable aspects associated with military culture, a growing ‘knowledge gap’ and disconnect between the military and South African society, the estrangement of certain race groups, and the masculine nature of the military. These aspects need to be addressed if the SANDF wishes to attract learners with good academic credentials.     

军事维和多模态网络自主学习平台建设

为了推进维和军事训练的创新发展,军队必须大力进行维和训练理念、模式、方法和手段的改革,有效提升维和官兵的实战能力。本文依据多模态理论、自主学习理论和建构主义学习理论的研究成果,根据网络环境实际提出构建以培训学习者岗位任职综合技能为目的、以强军网络学习环境为依托的基于浏览器/服务器(B/S)架构模式的军事维和多模态网络自主学习平台。该平台能够让学生自主选择学习内容、查看学习进度和效果反馈、访问优质数字资源、利用虚拟社区与教师和同学共同讨论学习内容、学习心得,并且通过智能化的推荐来合理制定适合自身认知结构的学习计划和方式。平台的建立为构建以学习能力、实践能力、创新能力培养为导向,与新型军事人才培养相适应的教学体系和教学模式提供了有益的探索。     

South African defence policy: the rationale and impact of the SANDF’s primary role and conventional force design

The 2015 South African Defence Review set out to reverse the deterioration of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) capabilities. Within the South African Department of Defence (DOD) this deterioration is expressed mainly in terms of a decreasing defence budget, subsequent declining conventional capabilities and obsolete prime mission equipment. Contemporary research and defence expert debates on this theme, point out the disjuncture between policy ends and the available means, with scepticism for an increased defence budget given the DOD’s lack of internal reform and strategy adjustment. One question that remains largely unanswered in the literature regarding the decline of the SANDF, is why both the policy-makers and the SANDF have remained focused on the primary role of the military (defending territorial integrity) accompanied with an unaffordable conventional force design? This question relates to the aim of this paper and is explored by revisiting initial defence policy decisions and compromises that were made in the 1990s. It is argued that the primary role of the SANDF and its conventional force design suited the interests of both the politicians and the military, but that the drawbacks thereof have harshly caught up with the DOD.     

论当今国际维和行动发展和趋势

本文从当今国际维和行动现状出发,分析了国际维和行动的特点,剖析了国际维和行动面临的挑战问题,最后对国际维和行动的发展提出几点思考,并系统阐述了维和行动的相关问题。     

澳大利亚维和警察新体制解析

缘于新时期地区安全战略的需要,澳大利亚打造了国际派遣处,建立起了维和警察新体制。该维和警察新体制的运作机制和理念值得关注和学习。澳大利亚希望通过其维和警察新体制扩张并主导在南太平洋地区的警察维和行动。与此同时,澳大利亚在南太平洋地区的强势维和行动面临挑战。     

The Nepalese Army: From counterinsurgency to peacekeeping?

Can peacekeeping participation help reform military institutions in democratizing states? Drawing on evidence from Nepal – one of the world's largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations – this essay illustrates that participation in peace missions can sometimes undermine security sector reform and deteriorate civil–military relations. Furthermore, this analysis shows that peacekeeping participation will not necessarily reorient troops away from their conventional internal roles (such as counterinsurgency) or improve civilian control over the armed forces. Hence, civilians can lose control over soldiers just as frequently when they are deployed overseas as when they are at home.     

试述中国维和警察工作的开创与发展

中国参与联合国维和行动的历程到中国维和警察工作的发展,以及参与维和行动的具体实践,体现了大国责任,实践证明,参与维和行动已经成为可调动的战略资源,为融入国际安全机制提供有效途径。     

从建设和平的视角看联合匡维和行动的困境

联合国维和行动目前面临着日益严峻的困难和挑战。其中的一个重要原因在于维和人员被赋予了过多的建设和平的职责,使得维和行动处于两难的境地。要缓解这一困境,国际社会需重新审视和定义维和行动的职责范围,大力加强和平委员会的能力建设,并给予更多的授权。在实现这些长期目标之前,维和特派团将继续代替建和委履行建设和平协调员的职责。     

BOOK REVIEWS

This study examines how young people who have joined the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on the two-year Military Skills Development System (MSDS) contract experience military service, and the effect this has on their ability to readapt to civilian life. The first part of the study examines the theoretical debates associated with military socialisation and reintegration into civilian life. Hereafter, the findings are presented in terms of the experiences of MSDS privates serving in the infantry, those that have left, and the perceptions of employment agencies in terms of the marketability of military skills. The conclusion is reached that MSDS members experience their two years in the SANDF as life-changing, that this affects their ability to reintegrate back into civilian society, and that the skills acquired during military training is of limited market value. The conclusion is reached that more needs to be done to assist these young military veterans to adapt to civilian life and to augment their military experience with more marketable skills to enable them to find gainful employment.     

美国在非洲维和的经验教训及其启示

开展维和行动是实现联合国宗旨和维护世界安全与稳定的重要手段。作为联合国安理会五大常任理事国之一,美国是联合国完成维和任务不可或缺的,甚至具有决定性作用的国家。冷战时期美国的非洲维和行动在争吵和小心翼翼中进行,冷战后美国的非洲维和战略经历了积极主动向有选择地介入转变的过程,当前美国的非洲维和行动则是在崇尚自主的前提下推广美国特色的维和,以期最大限度地彰显美国实力、维护美国核心利益。审视美国非洲维和战略的演变,汲取足够的经验教训,有利于更好地根据世情和国情定位中国未来的维和战略。     

New directions for African security

African security, particularly conflict-related political violence, is a key concern in international relations. This forum seeks to advance existing research agendas by addressing four key themes: domestic politics and peacekeeping; security sector reform programs; peace enforcement; and the protection of civilians. Each of the articles in this forum makes a case for analyzing African agency when it comes to African security. As a way of introduction, this short article sets out the main debates and concludes by providing further directions for future research.     

中国维和警察学科理论体系基本框架构想

中国维和警察参与联合国维和行动已成为我国公安工作的重要内容，把中国维和警察理论作为中国警学的新兴学科，研究由联合国维和行动基本理论、中国维和警察特色理论、中国维和警察基础理论、中国维和警察专业理论、中国维和警察应用理论构建的中国维和警察学科理论体系基本框架，对我国维和警察工作的发展具有重要的促进作用。     

‘Fighting for peace’

In Africa, most of the present conflicts are civil, intra-state wars where belligerent groups use guerrilla tactics to achieve various political, economic or ideological objectives. The atrocities and the effect of these on-going wars on innocent civilians, human suffering, poverty and development are beyond comprehension. Not surprisingly, the majority of current peace operations are in Africa, with more than 70 countries contributing forces to these conflict zones. On the continent, South Africa has come to assume a leading role in peace operations and is now a major troop-contributing country to UN and AU missions. In the past 11 years, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has taken part in no fewer than 14 peace missions. This article provides a brief background of the conflicts in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, the different United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) mandates under which peacekeepers had to operate as well as their objectives, and the extent of South Africa's involvement in the various missions. In the last section, the major challenges, that these operations have posed are highlighted.     

区域性国际组织参与维和事务研究

当今世界,区域性国际组织以其独特优势,成为联合国以外维护和平与稳定的重要力量。以典型的区域性国际组织实施、参与的维和行动为例,分析其存在的重要性;援引《联合国宪章》等重要文献,说明区域性国际组织在维护世界和平事务中的合法性;通过对区域性国际组织本身特点的分析,说明其实施维和行动的优势以反对联合国维和行动地位产生的影响;最后,从如何发挥区域性国际组织的重要作用进行分析,并提出建议。     

中国维和警察防暴战术理论体系初探

研究维和警察防暴战术理论体系，以丰富维和警察理论体系，为维和警察在任务区执行任务提供理论支持。重点对维和警察防暴战术理论体系的概念、构成及应用进行了论述。     

对我国维和警察在任务区进行文化传播的思考

文化影响力是一个国家软实力的重要组成部分,对外进行文化传播是塑造一个国家积极正面形象、提高软实力的有效手段。通过探讨维和警察进行文化传播的重要性、任务、方式以及应注意的问题,旨在对中国维和警察及维和警察培训有所裨益。中国维和警察应发挥自身优势积极进行中华文化传播,塑造中国警察的良好形象,打造中国维护世界和平、构建和谐世界、负责任的大国形象。     

Mediation,Peacekeeping And Civil War Peace Agreements

The post-civil war agreement phase is vulnerable to credible commitment problems, a lack of government capacity to implement, and/or mutual vulnerability to retribution from violating the agreement. This study’s main contribution is to demonstrate the combined utility of mediation and UN peacekeeping. Mediation builds trust and confidence and works with the parties to design an efficacious agreement conducive to, among other features, tamping down post-agreement violence. Peacekeeping stems violence and facilitates the implementation of the agreement. Agreements that are mediated and followed by UN peacekeeping are expected to be more robust in terms of staving off violence. We report the effects of the mediation–peacekeeping interaction using a method correcting for a common misinterpretation of interaction terms. We test logit and hazard models using a sample of full and partial civil war peace agreements signed between 1975 and 2011. Controlling for agreement design, democracy, and income per capita, the results indicate mediation and its interaction with peacekeeping reduce the probability of renewed/continuing violence and have a positive impact on agreement duration. We also report brief case study evidence from the 1990s peace process in Guatemala.