Editor's Note

This is the second issue of the Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies. This comes after the First Issue that, by all accounts, was most successful. Hopefully, this edition, based on the apparent high quality of contributions, will be considered to be equally good, if not better.
The Southern Africa Region, like the other five sub-regions of the African continent, has been be-devilled by a spate of intra-state conflicts, since the end of the Cold War. Many of these internal conflicts or civil wars can be traced back to the Cold War itself. Most of these upheavals are a continuation of the serious rifts that occurred in African societies as a result of the unsolicited interventions by the Superpowers during the Cold War, who supported opposing sides during ensuing civil wars. Scholars have referred to these occurrences as “proxy wars”.

It is also fair to argue that some of these intra-state crises are a reflection of a visible post-Cold War phenomenon in the newly independent states of Africa themselves. This latter comment needs to be understood in the context of the prevalent narrow-minded fixations that have depicted all African problems as emanating from external sources.

It also needs to be openly admitted that many of the internal conflicts in Africa have their origins within the African societies themselves. The recognition of this fact should not in any way distract from the enormous problems that Africa has inherited from the external world.
The fact of the matter is that ten years after the end of the Cold War, Southern Africa, as a region, continues to experience political instability and all kinds of insecurity, which may, or may not, have anything to do with the Cold War or Colonialism, as such. It is this broad picture of the “peace and security puzzle’ in Southern Africa, that the Journal of Peace, Conflict and Military Studies is trying to encompass in its coverage.

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An important element in the consideration of peace and security in Southern Africa is the status and role of the military in each and every state in the region in general. Certainly, while the military has played a prominent role in the other regions of the continent, let alone in certain specific countries, it can be noted with a certain degree of satisfaction that Southern Africa has generally been spared the curse of military coups or military intervention in political affairs. But one always wonders how long this honeymoon will last. It is this last question which makes the JPCMS particularly relevant and welcome.

This issue includes contributions that concentrate on the international context of peace with relevance for Southern Africa. Theo Neethling’s “Limitations of UN Peacekeeping Operations Where Conflict Did not Result in Victory for Any Side: Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone” analyses the shortcomings and limits of UN Peacekeeping activity in conflict cases whereby neither party triumphed. The expectations are that insights from the UN operations in the DRC and Sierra Leone would have benefits for the management of such conflicts as the Angolan civil war in Southern Africa.

Anthoni Van Nieuwkerk’s paper assesses the Southern African Development Community’s experience with security co-operation. He maintains that a ‘peace-building partnership’ between the region’s governments, multi-lateral institutions and non-state actors might effectively address the region’s conflict dilemmas.

Laurie Nathan in “The Absent Sentry‘; Sanctions and the Problem of Weak Border Control” examines the challenges posed by lax border control mechanisms from a regional perspective. The problems of drug trafficking and car-hijacking which are easily facilitated by the porousness of the state borders in Southern Africa, will always remain a reflection of the weaknesses in the region pertaining to lack of good governance and the lack of socio-economic development.
Christopher Nemeth analyses the role of information dissemination in military and conflict situations. The media plays both positive and negative roles within the realm of information warfare.

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In line with the categorization of external and internal origins of the crises buffeting Southern Africa, reference can be made to Abillah Omari’s article “Tanzania: Religious Crisis or Islamic Fundamentalism.” While Southern Africa can be said to have been spared from the crippling effects of religious crises, such as have characterized states like Nigeria and the Sudan, it is no comfort to the region that Tanzania, a member of the Frontline States, which is adjacent to the region, at least figuratively, and in terms of historical influence, is experiencing the signs of this religious forment.

Cleophas Tsokodayi focuses on the United States and South African policies towards Namibia. Constructive Engagement was the US foreign policy towards Southern Africa during the Reagan administration in Washington. The US policy at that time was aimed at engaging the “hostage” states of Southern Africa by the United States in order to bring about some constructive dialogue between Apartheid South Africa and its neighbours who at that time were being subjected to a campaign of “destabilization” by South Africa.

Leith Rian and Hussein Solomon focusing on the DRC, examine the weaknesses of political institutions and democratic levers. The failure of the state to authoritatively perform basic governance functions resulted from its loss of control over the political and economic space. A holistic approach is essential to revitalize a collapsed state.

Finally, Martin Rupiya reviews Gerald Horne’s book, From the Barrel of a Gun – The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980 published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2001. The book analyses the policy stance embraced by the US towards Zimbabwe’s war of liberation. The main argument is that the US geared towards thwarting Zimbabwe’s independence, acted against Zimbabwe’s liberation movement. Cold war politico-strategic considerations and racial politics powerfully influenced the US stance towards Zimbabwe.

Solomon M. Nkiwane
November 2000

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