Department of Strategic Studies

Permanent URI for this community

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/15139

Department of Military Strategy was the old name

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 47

The African Standby Force : Quo Vadis?
(AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2017) Vrey, Francois; Mandrup, Thomas
Standby forces of the African Union are expected to deploy rapidly into high-intensity conflict zones. Inherently they stem from and are expected to work effectively with regional militaries of differing capabilities. But first, the AU has to muster the political will to deploy the force at all and do it all on a shoestring budget. Vreÿ and Mandrup’s edited volume illuminates through the chapter contributions the breadth of challenging political hurdles that the African Union’s African Standby Force faces. They do this in clear and readable terms. This important book is imperative for anyone seeking to understand the rapid deployment forces on which African states have optimistically pinned the future of their collective security aspirations.
An analysis of the maritime domain governance architecture in Southern Africa
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Mkhonto, David Maningi; Blaine, Mark; Ramokgadi, S. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and Africa Studies: Military Strategy.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Southern Africa's maritime domain covers a vast territory which covers 16 seaboard and island state countries in the SADC region. This territory offers numerous blue ocean economy opportunities for these states in their Exclusive Economic Zones. However, in addition to potential blue ocean economy opportunities in this maritime domain, the vastness of the territory exposes these seaboard and island state countries to a number of maritime security threats which are transnational and multidimensional in nature. This causes complexities that could only be best addressed through multilateral and regional cooperative policy architectures. To address the issue of maritime threats and benefit from the blue ocean economic opportunities, a number of agreements have been entered into by different governments in the region. The result has been the signing of approximately nineteen policies. However, the Maritime Domain Centres are not linked and operate independent of each other without coordination. This results in fragmented and duplicated effort and inefficient use of resources. Accordingly, while the potential for developing a regional cooperative architectural regime exists, it is not being realised as the policies agreed on the state level are not being implementation. The criticality of policy coordination through a regional cooperative architectural regime is heightened by an increase in the activities of transnational organized crime within the maritime domain of these Southern African states. Therefore, the need to establish why policies for a coordinated effort agreed on the state level are note being implemented is critical. This research analyses the maritime domain governance architecture in Southern Africa and evaluates the presence of governance architecture, as well as its challenges, implementation, and efficacy.
Anatomy of post-communist European defense institutions : the mirage of military modernity
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Jordaan, Evert
In Anatomy of post-communist European defense institutions: The mirage of military modernity, Thomas-Durell Young’s aim was to determine why Central and Eastern European (CEE) states have failed to apply democratic defence governance concepts, despite 25 years of Western assistance programmes.
The application of Supers theory in the military : culture and gender in the life roles of young professional officers
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2001-01) Kotze, M. E.
Abstract: Political and societal changes in South Africa have resulted in the fundamental transformation of amongst others the personnel composition of the National Defence Force in order to be more representative of the South African population as a whole. As a corollary to this process, the South African Military Academy is making a determined effort to increase the number of black and female students within its student population.
The appropriate and optimal role and function of special forces in peace missions
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Bester, Louis Andries; Esterhuyse, Abel; Stellenbosch Universty. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and Africa Studies. Dept. of Political Science. (Mil)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The fascination with special forces, which is especially prevalent in books, movies and news articles, could be ascribed to the prominence of their use in contemporary conflicts across the globe. The public’s imagination of special forces has become linked with military actions and the armed struggles in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Special forces are also strategically very appealing to policymakers for a number of reasons. The political confidence vested in special forces is clearly demonstrated in the creation of specialised commands across the world. This goes hand in hand with an increase in operating budgets, manpower and supporting structures for special forces operations. There is, however, a paradox of employing such a highly lethal force in order to pursuit peace. With peacekeeping evolving parallel with the strategic environment, especially in Africa, the trend towards more robust interventions has become prevalent since the end of the Cold War. As such, the requirement for accurate and timely intelligence in peace missions has become crucial. Admittedly, special forces would not necessarily be the soldiers expected to wear blue berets and participate in peace missions. It may come as a surprise to the uninformed, though, to learn that special forces have indeed participated, and are still involved, in peace missions across the globe. The dichotomy of this phenomenon leads one to enquire as to what gave rise to elite military forces, renowned for their rigorous training, specialised skills, and sophisticated equipment to be employed in peace missions.
Collecting evidence on the use of parliamentary oversight tools : a South African case study
(AOSIS, 2020) Van Rensburg, Wilhelm Janse; Vrey, Francois; Neethling, Theo
Background: Parliament, through its oversight function, plays a central role in holding the executive to account. In South Africa’s 2014 Defence Review policy document, it was stated that the ‘Defence Force is in a critical state of decline’. This brings about the question whether the South African Parliament effectively held the executive to account regarding developments around defence. Objectives: The article aims to gather evidence on the use of oversight tools by the South African Parliament over a 20-year period, within the post-1994 democratic dispensation, in order to determine the broader trajectory of parliamentary defence oversight. Method: To determine the trajectory of oversight, this article gathered evidence on the use of internationally recognised parliamentary oversight tools by South Africa’s two parliamentary defence committees from 1994 to 2014. The period allows for a 20-year review of oversight of defence, inclusive of four full parliamentary terms. Evidence was collected on parliamentary debates, questions, special inquiries, oversight visits and the use of external audits as oversight tools. Results: The article found that tools were used with varying degrees of success. Results for research on each oversight tool is discussed. Conclusion: Based on evidence on the use of oversight tools, this article concludes that over a 20-year period there was a declining trajectory in parliamentary oversight of the defence portfolio. The proven applicability of the criteria utilised in this article can serve to inform evaluations of the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight, specifically at committee level.
Collective security in Africa : the tension between theory and practice
(Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, 2017) Jordaan, Evert
The promotion of peace and security in Africa necessitates security cooperation between states and collective security remains a way to pursue it. This paper explores the changed meaning and application of the concept of collective security within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to deal with both interstate and intrastate security concerns within the African Union (AU). Since the AU has made clear commitments to collective security, the aim is to determine to what extent the AU subscribed to collective security and applied it in terms of coercion, which includes interventions. While dealing with genocide, war crimes and extended presidential terms remains problematic, the AU has taken an assertive stand with the use of coercion in cases of unconstitutional changes of government. The article highlights the tension between the theory and practice of collective security in Africa.
Combined effect of buoyancy force and Navier slip on MHD flow of a nanofluid over a convectively heated vertical porous plate
(Hindawi, 2013) Mutuku-Njane, Winifred Nduku; Makinde, Oluwole Daniel
We examine the effect of magnetic field on boundary layer flow of an incompressible electrically conducting water-based nanofluids past a convectively heated vertical porous plate with Navier slip boundary condition. A suitable similarity transformation is employed to reduce the governing partial differential equations into nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically by employing fourth-order Runge-Kutta with a shooting technique. Three different water-based nanofluids containing copper (Cu), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are taken into consideration. Graphical results are presented and discussed quantitatively with respect to the influence of pertinent parameters, such as solid volume fraction of nanoparticles (), magnetic field parameter (Ha), buoyancy effect (Gr), Eckert number (Ec), suction/injection parameter (), Biot number (Bi), and slip parameter (β), on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient, and heat transfer rate.
A critical analysis of the military strategic lessons learned from South Africa’s participation in the force intervention brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Pieterse, Johan Christiaan; Olivier, Laetitia; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and African Studies. Dept. of Political Science.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Security and Africa studies is a broad subject that is widely researched and documented, particularly the African battlespace. The nature and complexity of the African battlespace is a contemporary subject that requires in-depth research to understand, analyse and align future responses to situations of human insecurity, such as protracted armed conflict. The lingering conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a case in point. This study aims to provide a critical analysis of the strategic military lessons to be learned from the Republic of South Africa Battalion (RSA BATT) deployed under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) as a troop-contributing country of the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB). This study looked at the contemporary approach to addressing human insecurity in the DRC from a military perspective by discussing the RSA BATT’s contribution from 2013 to date. This study found that the RSA BATT’s contribution is driven by the South African Army Infantry corps’ strategy and philosophy, which, regardless of numerous limitations, strives to provide a tailored combat-ready user system (CRUS) to meet operational requirements within a complex African battlespace. Accordingly, this study analysed the SA Army infantry corps’ strategy by focusing on the ends, ways andmeans available to the RSA BATT in the DRC and the possible risks posed in achieving operational requirements. Few studies have provided an in-depth analysis such as this academic contribution. Therefore, this study joins the pool of understanding of contemporary multilateral military-strategic thinkers, which provides the audience with a South African military viewpoint on addressing contemporary and future multinational peace support operations (PSO).
Editorial
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Mandrup, Thomas
No abstract available.
The effective internal audit function as part of a sound corporate governance structure : the case study of Saldanha Bay Municipality
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Dichabe, Omphemetse Lorraine; Roos, Mariaan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and Africa Studies: Military History.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African local government is marred by many problems relating to governance. Because of these problems, it is necessary to explore the effectiveness of the Internal Audit Function (IAF) in assisting management with governance within local government. Research has shown a positive relationship between the characteristics of corporate governance and the IAF. This study sets out to establish the effectiveness of the IAF as part of a sound corporate governance structure at the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) during the period 2009/2010 to 2017/2018. A qualitative approach utilising the case study method was employed. Data was collected from municipal documents, as well as from unstructured interviews to corroborate the document analysis. The findings of this study highlight the challenges experienced by the IAF. The study found that the IAF lost skills and competencies repeatedly due to resignations. These staff shortages hampered the quality of work of the IAF, and prevented the IAF from being subjected to external quality assessments for the duration of the study. The low implementation rate of IAF recommendations is a cause for concern which contributes to repeat findings by the IAF and AGSA. The study also found that the IAF has two reporting lines - functionally to the audit committee (AC) and administratively to the municipal manager (MM), in accordance with best practice requirements. Although the IAF is not viewed as a strategic partner, but rather a supporting function of management, the support from the AC and MM may be utilised to improve governance at the SBM. The SBM can utilise the results of this research for purpose of reviewing current institutional management practices, and also as a benchmark for improvement of such practices. The findings and observations of this study may also assist other municipalities conducting a similar exercise.
EMHD flow of non-Newtonian nanofluids over thin needle with Robinson’s condition and Arrhenius pre-exponential factor law
(IOP Science, 2020-10-21) Mabood, Fazle; Muhammad, Taseer; Nayak, M. K.; Waqas, Hassan; Makinde, O. D.
Many researchers and scientists are devoting their time to scrutinize nanofluids nature and characteristics for heat transfer enhancement. The scrutiny of nanoliquids is important in the large scale thermal management systems via evaporators, advanced cooling systems, heat exchangers, micro/nano-electromechanical devices and industrial chilling applications. Nanoliquids are very momentous even in the natural process via different fields like chemistry, chemical engineering, physics and biology. Nanoliquids can be utilized in various fields of engineering such as different chemical procedures, cooling of electronic equipment and heat exchangers. The main aim of current article is to scrutinize electromagnetohydrodynamic flow of micropolar-Casson-Carreau nanoliquids over thin needle with Robinson's conditions and Arrhenius pre-exponential factor law. Double stratification effects are also taken into account. The reverent partial differential equations are reformulated into the system of ordinary differential expressions by implementing appropriate transformations. Such obtained equations subject to boundary constraints are computed numerically by considering Runge–Kutta-Fehlberg method. Behaviour of numerous interesting parameters on flow fields is deliberated. The outcomes of flow fields are delineated through graphs and tabular data.
The evolution of strategy : thinking war from antiquity to the present
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2011) Vrey, Francois
The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present is another welcome addition to the field of War Studies with its particular focus on strategy. The publication adds to a growing body of literature that explores new historical sources to anchor the theoretical departure of the work further, and attends to the emergent dilemmas of the future role(s) of the armed forces. At a time when critical stances about the utility of armed forces seem to have entered a growth period, The Evolution of Strategy contributes several well-argued perspectives to acknowledge and comment on questions related to the utility of armed coercion in contemporary times.
From Boleas to Bangui : parliamentary oversight of South African defence deployments
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Van Rensburg, Wilhelm Janse; Vrey, Francois; Neethling, Theo
Parliamentary oversight of the executive plays a key role in ensuring accountability and is therefore central to the system of checks and balances that characterises liberal democracies. After 1994, South Africa aligned itself with liberal democratic ideals and sought to foster accountability in governance. In the South African Parliament, committees are considered the engine rooms of the institution and are central to the oversight process. Members of Parliament serving on these committees also have specific tools at its disposal to conduct oversight. These include deliberations (debates), posing written and oral questions, oversight visits, special inquiries and external audit opinions. By reviewing the use of these tools in relation to defence deployments, this article aims to determine the long-term post-1994 trajectory of parliamentary oversight of deployments. The article uses the timeline between Operation Boleas (Lesotho, 1998) and the ‘Battle of Bangui’ (Central African Republic, 2013), two key post-1994 military deployments, as a demarcation for determining the trajectory of oversight. The article finds a negative trajectory in terms of the oversight of deployments. Committee meetings dedicated to deployments remained limited. Questions around deployments did not fill the vacuum left by a lack of committee activity. Oversight visits to deployment areas were limited while there was a complete dearth of in-depth inquiry into deployments through special inquiries and external audits. The article subsequently notes that the negative trajectory in terms of deployment oversight can not only be explained by the growing civil-military gap in South Africa, but arguably contributed to the widening gap.
From the editors
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2015) Esterhuyse, Abel; Liebenberg, Ian
The role of the military in the making of South Africa has always been a contentious issue and has recently again been highlighted when the military was deployed in certain South African neighbourhoods in support of the police to deal with the recent bout of xenophobic violence. During the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the military was deployed to help with border protection and has since been a permanent feature on South Africa’s borders. More recently, the military has also been utilised in counter-poaching operations and the fight against crime inside the country. During the farm labour unrest in the Western Cape in 2012, the provincial government under the national opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, also called on the national government to deploy the military in support of the police in that province. In the more recent past, the Western Cape provincial government also requested military support to deal with gangsterism in certain neighbourhoods of the Western Cape. There seems to be an increasing demand for and an increased deployment of the military in the domestic security realm in South Africa. Domestic military deployments in Africa have always been at the heart of debates about military professionalism and the effect such deployments have on the important relationship between a society and its military. The study of the intimate link between the military and the South African society is the focus of the first article by Lindy Heinecken.
From the editors
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2011) Esterhuyse, Abel; Liebenberg, Ian
This edition of Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, brings three very particular themes together: history, contemporary military operations, and military technology. From a historical perspective, the focus is on the Anglo-Boer War. The two articles on the contemporary use of force places the emphasis on Iraq and Somalia. The 2003 Iraqi War is used as a case study in the analysis of ‘civil war’ as a concept. The article on Somalia addresses the need for military intervention. The underlying argument is that military intervention can be successful in bringing about the change that is required in that war-torn region of the world. The technology related articles highlight the role of information warfare and weapons assignment in air defence.
In the eye of the public: Military-media relations in South Africa
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Theunissen, Jacobus Danie Johannes; Esterhuyse, Abel; Jordaan, Evert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and Africa Studies: Political Science.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The conflict of interest between the military and the media originates from the inception of professional journalism. Militaries are as old as humanity and throughout history required various aspects to be victorious. The most important of them being operational security. The media on the other side want to provide an account of what occurred in a truthful and factual manner. Historically the relationship between these two entities have been strenuous as the military needs total control over information and access to conflicts as opposed to the media who required access in order to be able to provide an objective narrative. In the first 10 years of democracy in South Africa there was a congruent relationship between the military and the media. This relationship steadily deteriorated over the years where it is considered to be non-existent at present by certain journalists who regularly interact with the military. The media is of the opinion that the military does not communicate intentionally, timeously, and courteously by taking editorial processes into consideration. From the media’s side the level of professionalism in journalism has dwindled due to the juniorisation of its editors and journalists who no longer understand the military. Up to 2004 corporate communication officers in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were highly specialised and had many years of experience in dealing with the media. The media liaison function was decentralised and there were continuous liaison between the different management levels of the military and the media. This changed when media liaison was centralised to the Defence Headquarters in 2000. Since then officers without corporate communication qualifications and experience have been appointed in various senior corporate communication and media liaison posts. The Policy on Corporate Communication in the Department of Defence details the role of corporate communication functionaries and their responsibilities to ensure a positive public image on behalf of the command cadre. It is an extensive document addressing the command and control of the discipline on all the management levels as well as the education, training, and development aspects for the discipline. In South Africa it seems as if reporting on the military by the media is either predominantly of a negative nature or there is very little coverage of substance on the SANDF. The purpose of the study is to determine and explain what underpins the relationship between the military and the media in South Africa. The public needs to know what the military does, and the most effective way for the military to communicate with its stakeholders is using the media as a mass communication tool. Communication plays a pivotal part to ensure that the role, functions and activities of the SANDF is presented to ensure a positive public opinion.
Instrument to evaluate to which extent the operational support information system (OSIS) adds value to the South African Air Force (SAAF)
(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005-12) Hattingh, Maria Jacoba; Botha, D. F.; Renken, J. C.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Military Sciences.
Since the 1940s, the evaluation of information systems has been the topic of many authors’ research. When taking into account the amount of resources invested in an organisation’s information systems, especially in the present fiscal conditions, then the evaluation of an information system’s success is imperative. Traditionally, monetarybased evaluation measures were used to evaluate the success of an information system, however, these types of measures were found to be inadequate in their attempt to measure the complexity of information systems successfully. Surrogate measures, such as the user’s satisfaction with the information system, were developed to replace monetary-based evaluation measures. These forms of measures are often perceptual by nature and usually encompass the different stakeholders involved in the information system.
Is open source GIS feasible in military operations? evaluation by applying a USE case
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Henrico, Susan; Coetzee, Serena; Cooper, Antony
The study of terrain and all its related elements and facets are of crucial importance to the military. Lodi, Smit, and Ayirebi agreed with this statement and added that the importance of terrain was recognised by military leaders more than two thousand years ago.[i] Military operations can occur at any of the three levels of war: tactical, operational and strategic and can be a combat operation or a military operation other than war (MOOTW). Information about the geography empowers a military commander to plan and execute a mission successfully. As technology developed and evolved, geographic information systems (GIS) have come to play a major role in this. Today, a military operation without the use of GIS is unthinkable. In a developing country like the South Africa, however, licenses for proprietary GIS software, vendor-exclusive training and the bureaucracy of the procurement cycle add to the time and costs of a mission. The question arises whether open source software is a feasible alternative. Since the South African National Defence Force was initially trained in the use of proprietary software and it therefore became a strong habit, the perception now exits that FOSSGIS products are neither mature enough nor user-friendly enough to be used in military operations. This study evaluates the use of an open source desktop GIS product, QGIS, in a use case for a military operation “other than war” (MOOTW). QGIS outputs were compared to those produced in ArcGIS, a proprietary desktop GIS product widely used in military operations. The user-friendliness of the two products as well as pricing was also compared. Results show that the QGIS outputs provide the operational commander with equivalent information to successfully plan and execute a mission. This implies that open source GIS is suitable for military operations, especially those with limited budgets and at short notice, such as in the case of disaster relief. [i] Lodi, K., Smit, H. & Ayirebi, G. (2014). Terrain analysis in the course curricula of the South African Army Engineer Corps. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies, 42, 102-121.
Maintaining international peace and security : reflections on peace-support operations in Africa
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 1998) Neethling, Theo
The 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.

Browse

Browsing Department of Strategic Studies by Title

Results Per Page

Sort Options