PURSUING HUMAN SECURITY IN AFRICA THROUGH DEVELOPMENTAL PEACE MISSIONS: AMBITIOUS CONSTRUCT OR FEASIBLE IDEAL?

Abstract

Pursuing human security through Developmental Peace Missions: Ambitious construct or feasible ideal? appears at a time when the continent of Africa is wrought by conflict, internal unrest and not-so-civil war, compelling African leaders to grapple with the theory and reality of peacekeeping and conflict resolution in extremely difficult and challenging environments. Notions of Developmental Peace Missions (DPMs) emanated from both the political debate and the study of African peace missions by university-based and NGO-employed researchers. This volume examines DPMs and assesses the utility of the concept itself as a means to pursue sustainable levels of human security through a combination of peacekeeping interventions. DPMs, which envisage a model of concurrent developmental efforts and security actions to turn back destructive internal African conflicts, is a noteworthy South African contribution to this debate. The editorial staff of Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies are pleased to publish this third Supplementa, which is probably the most comprehensive work on DPMs to date and of immediate interest to the defence community. Pursuing human security developed under the supervision of Prof Theo Neethling and Maj Benjamin Mokoena and was submitted by Lt Col Laetitia Olivier as a thesis, presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Military Science (MMil) in Security and Africa Studies at the Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University. It has been editorially altered and revised for this publication. The valuable inputs made by Prof DJ Kotze of Unisa as external examiner, as well as those proffered by the lecturing staff of the School for Security and Africa Studies during the initial research colloquium are acknowledged.