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Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies Editor's Note The almost total exclusion of African societies from
participating in the critical issues of Defence Management and Security,
leaving the field to ‘government experts and the military’
needs to be altered. Not only have the issues become complex and
interlocked with the broader agenda of human security but, the task
of bearing the defence burden needs to be explained, justified and
understood by all sectors of society in order to foster stable,
civil-military relations. The Centre for Defence Studies (CDS) has
set itself the task through this Journal acting as one of the forums,
to achieve this goal in the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) region. The Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies
seeks to inform, educate and precipitate debate on a wide range
of issues. These include Demilitarization and Demobilization; Peace-Building;
Defence Organizations; Defence Economics; Civil-Military Relations;
Peacekeeping; Conflict Resolution; the impact of War on the Environment;
Gender as well as problems associated with Procurement in all its
aspects. The focus in the first instance is on regional southern
African perspectives with the expectation of providing exclusive
insights that can be extrapolated to other regions of the continent
as well as the rest of the world. This inaugural issue has special significance. It
has tried to capture the essence of our objective reflecting regional
developments in the special subject of polemology. The range of
contributors and topics covered speak volumes of the qualitative
research and level of analysis that is expected to become the tradition
of The Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies. Beginning
with the ‘grave-diggers’ in our attempts to provide the
historical underpinnings of the use of violence within societies,
Dr Innocent Pikirayi, an archaeologist, has not failed us in making
a clear connection between warfare and the development of societies
in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. The article on “War, Violence and
Strongholds: An Overview of Pre-colonial Fortfied Settlements in
Northern Zimbabwe, 1550-1750 AD” has shown how the Portuguese
resorted to warfare in order to wrest control of increased trade
in gold and ivory from the Mutapa and Maravi states in southern
and northern Zimbabwe through “fierce campaigns mounted between
1569-75”. There was also inter-state raiding between the two
states. The effect of the internal and external assaults soon resulted
in the adoption of at least four methods of defence around the settlements.
Some of the measures indicated included localising their communities
on hilltops while others built earthworks as a form of defence surrounding
human settlements. A third option was the fortified hills used by
the Mutapa State with the final method being the construction of
wooden or stone stockades, otherwise known as chuambos (corrupted
to shambas). The period that Pikirayi discusses, is characterized
by violence and warfare and the readership, benefiting from the
special interpretative skills of an archaeologist, have the events
around this period amplified and linked to our present circumstances.
The article not only adds spice to contemporary problems of defence
and security but offers a unique opportunity of how the many diverse
disciplines can further our understanding of the subjects. Next
we have Dr. Rocky Williams, a former Umkonto We Sizwe (MK) cadre
following up with the piece “Before We Forget: Writing The
History of Mkonto We Sizwe [the Armed Wing of the ANC] 1961-2000”.
A number of us working in this field have expressed the need to
properly document the experiences and history of the former combatants
within the southern African Liberation Movements. Williams has provided
a bold attempt to present the MK’s history from the perspective
of a participant and acutely aware academic. He has also gone a
step further by reviewing their experiences during integration into
the new South African National Defence Force from 1994. There is
no vantage point better than the guerrillas themselves traversing
the southern African expanse of Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe,
and camps in Morogoro, Mbeya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Zambia
and Angola ‘in the struggle to rid the region of settler colonial
rule’. 1994 marked the end of minority rule and the introduction
of the next phase of nation-building by the majority. Rocky’s
contribution is likely to precipitate similar accounts from other
liberation movements in the region. The guerrilla tradition also
explains the post-independence stable civil-military relations in
Southern Africa as the cadres were imbued with the ‘tradition
of subservience to the political and civil authorities, first of
the different political parties and now governments‘. This
is especially true in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia.
The region has a rich history of guerrilla activities that still
requires attention in such grey areas as the operations undertaken,
training, recruiting methods, logistics, military operations and
campaigns and political education of the masses towards the final
phases of the armed struggle and many other facets. [ Back to the top ] Professor Kings Phiri has provided a brilliant exposé
of how a regular army, the Malawi Defence Forces, during the late
President Kamuzu Banda, was forced to ‘disarm’ a competing
force, the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) in his “A Case of the
Revolutionary Change in Contemporary Malawi: The Disarmament of
the Malawi Young Pioneers”. The MYP had been created by the
presidency and began to enjoy the provision of new equipment, conditions
of service as well as the undivided attention of the political elite
at the expense of more established armed forces. The result was
to undermine the standing army. Phiri’s context is a rare and
revolutionary insight into Malawi’s civil-military relations
during Banda’s era from one of the well placed academics who
was in the country throughout the turbulent times in Malawi’s
history. Professor Gavin Cawthra’s article, “From
‘Total Strategy’ to ‘Human Security’: The Making
of South Africa’s Defence Policy” dwells on the manner
of defence policy formulation that occurred in South Africa following
the assumption of power by Nelson Mandela’s African National
Congress (ANC) in 1994. Cawthra points out that the transition was
a political compromise that agreed to leave out the defence question
unresolved until after the elections. Thereafter, the ANC government,
lacking a two-thirds majority, was forced to employ the parliamentary
reform mechanism in order to influence changes within the country.
The success or otherwise of subsequent defence related programmes
such as demobilization and force reduction launched by the new state
is placed in a better context after benefiting from the analysis
by Cawthra. It is the special insight provided by the writer, ‘based
on his participating’ in that process that goes a long way
in providing the underpinnings of what the Journal of Peace, Conflict
and Military Studies is trying to achieve. Retired Lt. Colonel Martin Rupiya and Teaching Assistant
Gerald Mazarire in their article, “Two Wrongs Do Not Make A
Right: A Critical Assessment of Zimbabwe’s Demobilization and
Reintegration Programmes, 1980-2000” have attempted to provide
some background to the continuing problem of reintegrating former
combatants into Zimbabwean society since independence. The main
argument advanced is that there has not been any serious national
demobilization policy that has been formulated, nor have adequate
resources been provided for a diligent implementation of the programme.
The economic policy framework is not conducive and there were no
clear time guide-lines. All attempts so far have been ad-hoc, poorly
conceptualized and have resulted in divisions and cleavages developing
not only amongst the former combatants themselves but also within
the wider Zimbabwean society. Meanwhile, as these adverse developments
unfold, the real problem of not integrating the just under 20 000
former combatants since 1983 continues. This has not been addressed
and needs urgent attention. The hope is that we can inject a rational
approach designed to deliver a lasting solution to a national problem
that has so far been provincialised to the detriment of the “Class
of 1983” who continue to endure hardships. Kibasomba’s article is among the first to broach
the broader concerns from all sides that are playing themselves
out in the present conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). By offering this refreshing analysis as regards the war in
the DRC, he is challenging the world not to expect a quick fix solution
to deliver lasting peace in the DRC but rather a series of initiatives
that take into account the national interests of Uganda, Burundi,
Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa
in order of priority, to result in lasting peace in the DRC. The
main conclusion we can draw from Kibasomba’s excellent contribution
is that all diplomatic, political, economic and to a lesser extent,
military options have to be examined with a view to bringing about
peace in the DRC in the shortest possible time before the conflict
widens and engulfs the Eastern, Central and Southern African region
and perhaps the continent. [ Back to the top ] When the cold war formally ended in late 1991, President
Mobutu Seseko of the then Zaire — now the DRC — was clearly
on his last legs. The world was so sick of his misrule, corruption
and autocracy that there developed a global consensus to remove
him from power and replace him by whatever means. In such an environment,
according to Dr Roger Kibasomba, a national of the DRC, “internal
security problems in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, with the assistance
of the remaining superpower — the US — took advantage
of the political decay and huge economic potential not to mention
the land” — a vast expanse constituting the third largest
country on the African continent — to invade the country. Kibasomba
argues that Africans, if united, can solve the DRC problem. The
continued conflict spearheaded by Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, he
asserts, is not sustainable for these countries ‘have been
unable to quell internal armed conflicts within their own borders’.
The study also acknowledges an important element that has come up
time and time again without being given due prominence. This is
that all the three countries mentioned above do have security concerns
that have to be directly addressed if the world wishes to see a
lasting peace in the Central African Great Lakes region. Finally,
“Prospects for Peacekeeping in the Great Lakes Region: A Case
Study” also offers a strategic framework approach if the United
Nations Security Council finally makes a move to deploy forces in
the DRC. This framework is that there should be peace in affected
states so that the DRC cannot be used as a launching pad by future
disgruntled elements. During his reign, Mobutu had played king-maker
in the neighbouring states and tables seem to have been turned while
the world was hoping for an enduring peace to take hold in the former
Zaire. We also have Guy Lamb from the Centre for Conflict
Resolution’s Masters Degree dissertation extracts focusing
on the Namibian experience with demobilization and Resettlement
of its former combatants. The nexus between a new regime assuming
power, especially from a liberation war background and the demands
for the smooth insertion of former combatants into formally stratified
colonial societies has not been easy in southern Africa. Namibia
is one of those countries affected and Guy’s contribution,
“Civil Supremacy in Namibia: A Retrospective Case Study”
advances our understanding of that country’s experience. Finally, the Journal will be reviewing a number of
related works on the subject. The first such attempt has been made
by Dr. Nandini Patel’s review of Bingu Wa Mutharika’s
One Africa One Destiny — Towards, Democracy, Good Governance
and Development published by SAPES in Harare in 1995. The key argument
that emerges is that, on the one hand, Bingu Wa Mutharika is seeking
to defend flaws in the style of Africa’s political leaders
within the current catchy debate of democracy, good governance and
accountability, whilst on the other hand, Patel suggests the need
for a comprehensive approach that should result in the modernization
of African societies. The background of this important debate is
the general acceptance that the middle-class has either been wiped
out or failed to be developed by many of the existing African polities.
Consequently donors, mainly from the north, have seen an opportunity
to argue for empowerment of a broad based civil society as an alternative.
But, if we are to correctly interpret Patel’s argument, without
taking into account the existing strengths in traditional and communal
African structures, the initiatives are likely to fail. African
leaders and the educated classes, constituting a narrow ruling elite,
had recast themselves within the tribal and ethnic social structures
but appear to have failed to precipitate sustainable development
beyond personal, selfish and narrow interests. The question therefore
remains, what philosophy is going to inform and underpin future
development on the African continent? Furthermore, what concepts
of wisdom are to be accepted, and inform the general focus leading
to the continent’s development? The link provided by the review
is graphic in the context of defence economics and the choices that
the leaders have to make in regard to security and the well-being
of the people. In other words, do we allocate resources to traditional
threats and security concerns at the expense of human security or
do we strike a balance that takes into account production and growth? The CDS Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies is a regional Journal from a University-based institution that seeks to address problems surrounding issues of Defence Management and Security. The articles published attempt to portray the region-wide scenario articulating the type of problems experienced. These may then be measured against the future development and increased understanding of our communities in this specialized area. In placing these issues in the hands of those directly affected, it is hoped that this avenue will provide the world with a prism through which the region and its evolution can be better understood. If this broad objective is achieved, then this medium of engagement would have attained its primary purpose — that of education and empowerment. Martin R. Rupiya [ Back to the top ]
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