(SUN MeDIA Stellenbosch, 2010) Vrey, Francois; Mandrup, Thomas; Esterhuyse, Abel
The conference theme On strategy: Strategic theory and contemporary African
armed conflicts, jointly presented by Stellenbosch University in South Africa and
the faculty of the Royal Danish Defence College, attempts to draw attention to
two matters. First, the importance and contribution of strategic theory as an
explanatory framework to better understand armed conflict, and second, to elevate
the importance of the policy – strategy nexus that is often lost or misinterpreted
when viewing African armed conflicts. This conference represents a combined
enterprise to bring a better understanding of the seemingly intractable African
armed conflicts, and the world of strategy, to be understood as the consequences of
the past use of armed forces for future outcomes (Gray 1999:18).