Masters Degrees (Security and Africa Studies)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/4418

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (Security and Africa Studies) by Subject "South Africa -- Armed Forces -- Political activity"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Homeland security: the domestic deployment of the South African Armed Forces
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03 ) Andreas, Jan; Esterhuyse, Abel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and Africa Studies: Military Strategy.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Historically, South Africa has deployed the military domestically since its colonial era. Domestic military deployments in South Africa have occurred during various periods of government, including those of the Dutch, British, Union, and republican governments. The domestic deployment of the military by all previous governments was for all practical purposes intended to suppress rebellions against the government, enforce government policies, and maintain stability. The South African military has also deployed domestically several times to assist with disaster relief, to maintain law and order, and to protect the borders. The purpose of this research was to explore the idea of homeland security as a guiding framework for the domestic deployment of the South African armed forces. It aimed to address a number of key questions about the conceptualisation of homeland security in South Africa to determine the key drivers for the domestic deployment, doctrine, training, and resourcing of the South African military. In terms of homeland security, it refers to the efforts and measures taken by a government in order to safeguard its citizens, critical infrastructure, and territorial integrity from internal and external threats. It includes a wide range of initiatives aimed at preventing, detecting, and responding to dangers that include cyber-attacks, natural catastrophes, orchestrated violent political unrest, and other events that may endanger a country’s security or the general wellbeing of the nation. These efforts by the government involve a multiplicity of government departments, agencies, and private sector organisations working together to prevent and respond to threats. Among them are law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, emergency management agencies, the military, and the private sector. Overall, the goal of homeland security is to ensure that the nation remains safe, secure, and resilient in the face of a wide range of threats and risks. Homeland security should not be viewed as exclusively or even primarily a military task. Security cluster departments, provincial and local government organisations, the private sector, and the populace must carry out several activities in an integrated manner to secure the domestic security domain as a highly complex environment (Tomisek, 2002). In post-1994 South Africa, the domestic security situation has become particularly contentious, where the South African Police Service (SAPS) is mandated to address domestic security, but often relies on the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist in this role. The SANDF is not always trained, structured, or equipped to address contemporary domestic security issues such as recurrent xenophobic unrest, gangsterism, and, most recently, the July 2021 civil unrest. These security occurrences have caught the South African security structures off guard and unprepared to respond appropriately. The lack of coordination among security organisations highlights the weakness in the South African security cluster concept, or the application thereof, which creates the perception of an ineffective national security system. Homeland security is an emerging concept that guides the domestic utilisation of militaries globally. The South African security reconceptualisation of the early 1990s provided the foundation for the concept of homeland security; the SANDF therefore needed to develop a doctrine for the purpose of understanding its role in conducting homeland security missions within a whole-of-government system. However, homeland security has never been deliberately explored as an organising concept for the domestic deployment of the South African military in democratic South Africa.