Theo Neethling

Reflections on norm dynamics: South African foreign policy and the no-fly zone over Libya

The implementation of the United Nations Security Council vote (1973, 2011) in favour of a no-fly zone in Libya was met with mixed reactions by South African foreign policy observers and commentators in March 2011. Officially, South Africa had voted for Resolution 1973 as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, yet soon after the initial stage of implementation Pretoria made an appeal to international role-players to respect the unity and territorial integrity of Libya as well as Tripolis rejection of any foreign military intervention. Critics asserted that South Africa had to be goaded into accepting a no-fly zone, based on ‘the responsibility to protect’, but that it soon backtracked, depriving itself of any shred of credibility it had left in international relations. Others noted that in some instances the normative objective of South Africas foreign policy appears aimed at contributing to democracy, human rights, and justice in the international community, while in other instances, the South African government claims to uphold the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference — principles that often suit despots around the world. In examining South Africas foreign policy and relations, the concept of norms subsidiarity (based on the work of Amitav Acharya) is helpful in explaining these apparent inconsistencies.

International peacekeeping trends: The significance of African contributions to African peacekeeping requirements

This article provides an overview of UN peacekeeping operations with special reference to the African continent. More specifically, it reflects on current UN peacekeeping operations and discusses international contributions to African peacekeeping requirements. In this regard, it focuses on the nature and profile of international involvement in the UNs most challenging missions on African soil, namely the missions in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo with a view to assessing current international trends. In addition, the article also reflects on developments among African regional organisations in undertaking operations in the realm of peace and security. Two pressing questions are especially addressed: To what extent are developed (industrial) states still involved in peace support in Africa and to what extent have African states assumed greater responsibility for providing the UN and other multinational organisations with peacekeeping personnel?This article provides an overview of UN peacekeeping operations with special reference to the African continent. More specifically, it reflects on current UN peacekeeping operations and discusses international contributions to African peacekeeping requirements. In this regard, it focuses on the nature and profile of international involvement in the UNs most challenging missions on African soil, namely the missions in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo with a view to assessing current international trends. In addition, the article also reflects on developments among African regional organisations in undertaking operations in the realm of peace and security. Two pressing questions are especially addressed: To what extent are developed (industrial) states still involved in peace support in Africa and to what extent have African states assumed greater responsibility for providing the UN and other multinational organisations with peacekeeping personnel?

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

Since the advent of a new dispensation in South Africa, expectations in Africa and elsewhere have steadily grown regarding South Africas potential role as a peacekeeper in African conflicts. Infact, South Africa has been identified by many observers as the one state able to ensure effective peacekeeping on the African continent. On paper, South Africas 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.

Piracy around Africa’s west and east coasts: a comparative political perspective

The study of politics, or political science, focuses on both the abstract theories and practical operation of government and politics. The phenomenon of piracy on the east and west coasts of Africa brings an important scholarly issue to the fore, namely the significant roles of non-state actors in national, regional and global issues and politics. The phenomenon of maritime piracy along Africa’s coastal areas is indeed of great strategic and political-economic interest − specifically since globalisation and maritime trade show a close interface. This article examines the similarities and differences relating to the phenomenon of piracy on the east and west coasts of Africa from a Political Science perspective by assessing, interpreting and appraising the phenomenon, and ascribing meaning to recent events and developments. It also explains the current insecurity off the west and east African coasts and closes with a brief comparison between the two regions under review. It concludes with the point that most security challenges confronting Africa have their origin in the lack or failure of governance as states are the primary actors and agents of good order at sea. Thus the required good order at sea should be viewed as a function of how states, such as Somalia and Nigeria, exercise their jurisdiction at sea to secure busy sea lanes and also to protect the safe harvesting and extraction of resources.

Whither peacekeeping in Africa : revisiting the evolving role of the United Nations

Post-Cold War turbulence between 1990 and 1994 led to huge UN peacekeeping operations and the cost of these operations increased six-fold over this period. However, as the number of peacekeepers declined sharply towards the end of the 1990s, critics were quick to contend that the UN Security Council had been lax in carrying out its mandate and responsibility to maintain international peace and security. Specifically, it was argued that the Security Council had limited responsibility and commitment to deploy Blue Helmets in sizeable numbers on the African continent where involvement in conflicts had been among the UNs most challenging endeavours. The tide has turned in recent years and today the UN deploys more peacekeepers in international peacekeeping theatres than ever before - the majority on African soil. The question arises : What does this imply with regard to the political will of the international community to invest in or contribute to peacekeeping operations in Africa? Furthermore, where does this leave important African roleplayers such as the AU and the envisaged African Standby Force? Against the above background this article aims at providing a better understanding of UN peacekeeping operations with special reference to African peacekeeping challenges.

Pursuing sustainable peace through post-conflict peacebuilding: The case of Sierra Leone

Many of the worlds poorest states have experienced violent conflict in the past decades and it is today widely accepted that armed conflicts require sustained efforts that address not only the military, but also the political, humanitarian, economic and social dimensions of conflicts. For some years there has been a growing international concern with and emphasis on peacebuilding programming in the area of conflict resolution and peacekeeping. In Sierra Leone, a country that was engulfed in a brutal civil war for more than ten years, peace was hard won—a peace that would not have been possible without the presence and active post-conflict assistance of the United Nations (UN). However, Sierra Leone remains in a precarious state, being one of the poorest countries in the world, and needs the commitment of the international community in ongoing post-conflict peacebuilding to sustain its delicate peace. This article examines the challenges, extent and achievements of peacebuilding programming in Sierra Leone, and assesses the prospects for sustainable peace in this once war-torn West African state.

Politics in my blood: a memoir

development dynamics; however, he does not provide a deeper analysis of how such changes are brought about in different socio-political contexts. As a lucidly written and informative textbook it will be immensely beneficial to graduate and research students alike, providing relevant historical, economic and social data and information on the region. It may also be helpful to government policy-makers in identifying immediate priority areas for policy consideration. With the focus of the world (and that of India) increasingly shifting towards Francophone Africa, this volume is an important addition to the literature on this region’s economies and societies which, unfortunately, has not been much studied and researched in Indian academic circles.

South Africa's Foreign Policy and Africa: Continental Partner or Hegemon?

When the ‘new’ South Africa emerged from a process of negotiation in 1994, expectations of the African National Congress (ANC) government and the constructive and dynamic role the country might play, both regionally and globally, were extremely high. The new government under President Nelson Mandela felt duty bound to break with the past by embarking on a fundamentally different foreign policy and diplomacy. The period since 1999, under the administration of President Thabo Mbeki, commenced with a process of redefining South Africa’s global role, as well as the replacement of functionaries directly involved in the conduct of South Africa’s foreign affairs. This was based on a review of the prevailing global trends and an effort to more accurately focus South Africa’s role and interventions in the international arena.

Working towards an African Peacekeeping capability: Key issues, challenges and dilemmas in Darfur

The most violent and devastating conflicts on the African continent have notably been intra-state in nature: conflicts with considerable peacekeeping consequences for regional and international organisations. To this end, it is commonly accepted that there is a pressing need for African and other role-players to register progress on the need to address, manage and resolve the conflicts on the continent.

Military spending, socio-economic challenges and foreign policy demands: appraising South Africa's predicament

The extensive reduction of defence expenditure for post-apartheid South Africa has created challenges for force development and preparation as well as the ability of the armed forces to deliver on expectations. For example, budgetary allocations were more than halved between 1989 and 1997, a development that was soon followed by a stagnant 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) defence allocation. This decline in financial resources also manifested itself in the human resources element, reducing the 93,000 posts declared in 1999 to the projected 70,000 (including civilians). Against this background, South Africas socio-economic commitments as well as deployments in support of foreign policy have continued to escalate forcing the current expenditure revision to rise to 2 per cent of GDP. However, against the considerations of an increasing influence and interest in Africa and international affairs, even with a domestic unemployment rate of 42 per cent and widening income disparities, this investment is considered worthwhile. The essay argues the existence of is a minimalist approach, adopted by the South African government in which there is a careful mix of foreign policy, economic rationality and limited military involvement to produce a military credible capacity that is consistent with the countrys ability to finance but whose main (primary) task is to operate in support of its wider interests on the African continent. In the final analysis, the paper argues that if South Africans should compare what they are paying for the military, they would actually discover that they are paying far less than most other nations.