(African Sun Media, 2020) Ramokgadi, Shadrack; Beukes, Tobie; Liebenberg, Ian
Having returned to the international gallery of nations in 1996 after its apartheid pariah status was lifted, South Africa had
to adjust its defence posture, defence diplomacy, and general national security framework to new conditions. The Cold War
was over, interstate wars in the region were unlikely, and if undertaken at all, military deployment was to participate in
peacekeeping operations. With the apartheid garrison state mentality a thing of the past, a new national security strategy
became a necessity. This chapter discusses the need and guidelines for a national security strategy suited to a democracy
and a developmental state aware of current and future socio-economic challenges, and its role in the region and on the
African continent.