SECURITY GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

In the ten years since the establishment of South Africa's first inclusive democratic government, an ambitious, extensive and systematic process of reform has been carried out in the governance of security. The process is widely regarded as having been successful and a model for other processes of ‘security sector reform’ in the context of transitions from authoritarian forms of governance to democratic ones.

That this been achieved with hardly a shot fired in anger is a remarkable achievement and a credit to visionary political leadership as well as organisational capacity, in other words to effective security governance.

At the same time, progress has been uneven and sometimes fragmentary, policy intentions and commitments have not always been translated into practice, the end results have not been to everyone's liking, and transformation has engendered its own pathologies. Thus several challenges remain in improving security governance.

This article provides a broad overview of the roles played by the various actors in the governance of the security sector, including the executive, parliament and civil society. It examines the main policy frameworks and touches on organisational transformation, because it is impossible to deal with governance in isolation from these issues. Policy processes and the frameworks they give rise to—in particular—are critical for effective governance. This article deals with the defence, safety and security and intelligence fields. A comprehensive overview would need to include the governance of criminal justice and foreign policy. The article does not seek to make an overall evaluation of governance, but to identify achievements, shortfalls and challenges.     

THE LAND IS THE ECONOMY

This article revisits Zimbabwe's land question from the vantage point of having been written five years after the ‘fast-track’ land redistribution programme was launched. Without belittling the accomplishments of land reform in the first 19 years of the country's independence, it is generally clear that the sweeping programme of 2000–2003, the most comprehensive of its kind, created a new paradigm. Clearly, the consequences will take many years to work themselves out through the country's political, economic and social fabric.

The article briefly defines what may be termed ‘old’ and ‘new’ versions of Zimbabwe's land question before outlining the salient aspects of the reform process itself. It then assesses the outcomes of the redistribution, the apparent lacuna between ‘land’ and ‘agrarian’ reform, and the debate that the reform process itself has kindled. Transforming land distribution into qualitative agrarian reform has proved an Achilles heel in the arguments put forward by the proponents of the fast-track programme. Finally, recommendations are provided as to what is necessary to secure land and agrarian reform in the short, medium and long term.     

South Africa's threat environment: a guide for the National Planning Commission

Abstract

The mandate of South Africa's recently appointed National Planning Commission includes addressing ‘defence and security matters’. This article seeks to outline the central elements of the threat environment facing South Africa in the foreseeable future. It is argued that South Africa faces no meaningful existential threat from conventional military forces but that its security forces will need to be prepared to address possible raids and attacks by conventional military forces both on home soil and on vital interests beyond the nation's borders. Other threats highlighted include the threats posed by potential insurgencies, by terrorism, and by crime, social unrest and banditry. Also addressed is the danger of so-called hybrid threats, in which two or more of the single threat types outlined here are combined. Finally, the article challenges the National Planning Commission to rethink South Africa's policy on peace operations in the light of the need to ensure the safety and security of the nation's citizenry.     

战场要素的认知处理

针对多弹编队飞行时如何判断当前复杂战场环境下的战场态势问题,采用层次分析法、属性识别理论方法和数据融合的方法,研究了实时认知处理战场要素模型问题。首先,对复杂战场要素进行分析,对这些战场要素进行分类;对不同的战场要素分别建立数学模型;然后,采用层次分析法和属性识别理论方法对导弹认知的数据进行评估,得到数据的精度评估等级后,采用数据融合方法对数据进行融合,得到融合后数据,以此对导弹中的数据进行实时更新。最后,将所建立的战场要素模型进行实例化仿真,仿真结果表明该方法的有效性。     

营区文化景观塑造之思考

文化景观在现代营房建设及部队发展过程中发挥着举足轻重的作用,为打造营区特色文化,分析了营区文化景观的内涵和意义,指出了当前营区文化景观建设中存在的主要问题,并在此基础上提出了营区文化景观塑造的策略:尊重地域特色;挖掘营区历史;凸显主题精神;打造创意小品。     

When the green gets greener: political Islam's newly-found environmentalism

Although the environmental movement was established in the West, there is currently an Islamist variant that has received less attention. The Quran and the Hadiths provide guidance for the faithful on the relationship between Allah, humanity and nature. The article will examine and compare the environmental agendas of six Islamist groups: Hizb'allah, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami, and al Qaeda. While they all share similar concerns, Islamists have developed globalized, glocalized, or localized ‘scales’ of engagement, depending on the targeted audience. Finally, the article will examine the security implications of Islamist environmentalism, including the possibility of an alliance between Islamists and militant environmentalists.     

虚拟战场的实时四声道立体声合成

面向虚拟战场提出了实现实时四声道立体声合成的简化算法。针对四声道立体声的特殊性 ,首先探讨了四声道立体声系统中扬声器的配置方案。在四声道立体声系统扬声器配置方案的基础上 ,解决了单声源的表示、声强衰减及实时立体声化问题 ,然后提出一种评价混声效果的标准及一个评价声源对整个声音所作贡献的公式 ,并由此提出一个混声公式 ,从而解决了多声源环境的实时混声问题。该套算法用于应用系统 ,取得了较好的效果。     

分布虚拟战场环境CGF行为调度

提出了一种分布虚拟战场环境中计算机生成兵力(CGF)实体行为调度方法,该方法由仿真结点对结点中运行的所有本地CGF实体及异地实体的远程模型所产生的行为进行集中式调度。通过本地CGF实体的兴趣域动态决定需要执行的异地实体远程模型行为的优先级及执行最后时限,通过将本地所有CGF实体的兴趣域合并,减少仿真结点需要调度的异地实体远程模型数量,进一步降低仿真结点的计算开销。该方法可以有效地确保分布虚拟战场环境对仿真实时性及真实性的要求。     

谈高校英语口语教学的现状与改进措施

高校英语口语教学应以修订教学大纲、提高教师自身素质、重视情感教学、创造语言环境为切入点,使大学英语口语教学水平有突破性提高,以适应社会对英语口语教学工作的要求。