A critical analysis of the military strategic lessons learned from South Africa’s participation in the force intervention brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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dc.contributor.advisorOlivier, Laetitiaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPieterse, Johan Christiaanen_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Security and African Studies. Dept. of Political Science.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2022-11-11T12:35:23Z
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-16T12:45:32Z
dc.date.available2022-11-11T12:35:23Z
dc.date.available2023-01-16T12:45:32Z
dc.date.issued2022-12
dc.descriptionThesis (MMil)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: Security and Africa studies is a broad subject that is widely researched and documented, particularly the African battlespace. The nature and complexity of the African battlespace is a contemporary subject that requires in-depth research to understand, analyse and align future responses to situations of human insecurity, such as protracted armed conflict. The lingering conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a case in point. This study aims to provide a critical analysis of the strategic military lessons to be learned from the Republic of South Africa Battalion (RSA BATT) deployed under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) as a troop-contributing country of the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB). This study looked at the contemporary approach to addressing human insecurity in the DRC from a military perspective by discussing the RSA BATT’s contribution from 2013 to date. This study found that the RSA BATT’s contribution is driven by the South African Army Infantry corps’ strategy and philosophy, which, regardless of numerous limitations, strives to provide a tailored combat-ready user system (CRUS) to meet operational requirements within a complex African battlespace. Accordingly, this study analysed the SA Army infantry corps’ strategy by focusing on the ends, ways andmeans available to the RSA BATT in the DRC and the possible risks posed in achieving operational requirements. Few studies have provided an in-depth analysis such as this academic contribution. Therefore, this study joins the pool of understanding of contemporary multilateral military-strategic thinkers, which provides the audience with a South African military viewpoint on addressing contemporary and future multinational peace support operations (PSO).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sekerheid- en Afrikastudies is ’n wye onderwerp wat breedvoerig en voortdurend nagevors en gedokumenteer word, veral die Afrika operasionele gevegsteater wat algemeen bekend staan as “The African Battle Space”. Die Afrika operasionele gevegsteater is ’n kontemporere navorsingsonderwerp weens die karakter, omvang en kompleksiteit daarvan. Dit is hierdie kompleksiteit wat omvattende navorsing inspireer wat ten doel het om die onderliggende redes en omvang van die uitgerekte konflik in Afrika en meelopende menslike basiese sekerheidstragedie te kan verstaan. Dit word bewerkstellig deur ’n kritiese analise van onderliggende redes wat lei tot die menslike tragedie en daardeur antwoorde kan verskaf oor hoe om die probleme in die toekoms aan te spreek. Die voortslepende konflik in die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo (DRK) is ʼn sprekende voorbeeld van die daaglikse menslike tragedie wat hom afspeel op die kontinent. Daarom het hierdie studie ten doel om ʼn kritiese analise te doen van die ontplooiing van die Suid Afrikaanse bataljon wat in die DRK ontplooi is as deel van die Verenigde Nasies se stabiliseringsmissie, beter bekend as MONUSCO (The United Nations (UN) Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) en meer spesifiek as troepvoorsienende land aan die FIB (Force Intervention Brigade). Die studie het uitsluitlik gefokus op die kontemporere benadering om menslike sekerheid in die DRK te bewerkstellig vanuit ʼn militere oogpunt en meer spesifiek binne die konteks van die ontplooiing van die Suid Afrikaanse bataljon wat sedert 2013 aktief betrokke is in MONUSCO en die FIB. Die studie het bevind dat die betrokkenheid van die Suid Afrikaanse bataljon (RSA BAT) direk daartoe bydra dat menslike sekerheid in die DRK bewerkstellig word. Die onderliggende rede hiervoor is die strategie en filosofie van die Suid Afrikaanse Infanterie Korps (SAIK) om ’n pasgemaakte gevegs gereed mag te verskaf, ongeag talle tekortkomings en kompleksiteit in die Afrika-gevegsteater. Gevolglik het die studie die gefokus op die doelwitte, wee en middele wat die bataljon tot hulle beskikking gehad het om die risiko’s die hoof te bied in hulle strewe om die bataljon se operasionele doel te bereik. Verder lewer hierdie studie ’n in-diepte analise wat min ander soortgelyke studies kon doen. Die studie lewer dus ‘n akademiese bydrae tot die bestaande kennis en bydraes wat befaamde internasionale militer-strategiese kenners oor die onderwerp gemaak het. Die nuanseverskil van hierdie studie baseer sy bevindings op ʼn fundamentele Suid Afrikaanse oogpunt ter verbetering van toekomstige vredesteun-operasies in die DRK.af_ZA
dc.description.versionMastersen_ZA
dc.format.extentxiii, 113 pages : illustrationsen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/126010
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subjectAfrican battlespaceen_ZA
dc.subjectSecurity, Internationalen_ZA
dc.subjectSpecial operations (Military science)en_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa -- Army -- Battalion, 32en_ZA
dc.subjectCongo (Democratic Republic) -- Politics and government -- 20th centuryen_ZA
dc.subjectMission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en R.D. Congoen_ZA
dc.subjectMONUSCOen_ZA
dc.subjectConflict management -- Congo (Democratic Republic)en_ZA
dc.subjectOperational readiness (Military science)en_ZA
dc.subjectForce Intervention Brigade (FIB)en_ZA
dc.subjectUnited Nations -- Military policyen_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa -- Armyen_ZA
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.titleA critical analysis of the military strategic lessons learned from South Africa’s participation in the force intervention brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congoen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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