Scientia Militaria - South African Journal of Military Studies

Editorial

Babalwa Mtshawu — 2024-11-28

Operation Observant Compass and the Hunt for Joseph Kony: The Use of Special Operations Forces in Humanitarian Interventions

Daniel Moriarty — 2024-11-28

Operation Observant Compass, the United States 2011–2017 military intervention in Central Africa to defeat Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, offers several lessons for students and practitioners of military geography. As opposed to previous humanitarian interventions, Operation Observant Compass featured a notably small force of roughly 100 special operations forces and support personnel. This special operations forces element, deployed to the tri-border region between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, confronted an elusive enemy force in an operational area roughly 200 000 square kilometres in size. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study, on which this article is based, argued that Operation Observant Compass resulted in a net positive humanitarian outcome despite failing to kill or capture Kony. First, using datasets on Lord’s Resistance Army attacks and Operation Observant Compass troop positions, this article presents a geospatial analysis of potential deterrence effects created by the deployment of special operations forces, such as the United States Special Forces or “Green Berets”. Second, using primary research conducted by the former psychological operations commander of Operation Observant Compass and the Ugandan People’s Defence Force counterpart, analysis is presented on the efficacy of psychological operations campaigns that sought to weaken the Lord’s Resistance Army through defections to regional security forces. The study also considered ancillary effects received through United States military medical personnel deployed in support of special operations forces, as well as a counterfactual argument in which United States forces were not directly deployed into the tri-border region. This article contributes to the existing literature by expanding understanding of a little-studied chapter in foreign military deployments in sub-Saharan Africa, considering the nexus between use of special operations forces and humanitarian interventions. Methodologically, the use of a geographic information system argues for a consideration of geographical proximity between forces in creating a deterrent effect in “low-intensity” or irregular conflicts.

Encroachment Challenges for the South African National Defence Force: The case of Army Support Base Potchefstroom

Motsweleng Lebogang Anthony Matjane — 2024-11-28

The research examined the issue of informal settlements encroaching on military lands, focusing on the effects on military operations and civilian safety in the Potchefstroom region, particularly at the Army Support Base Potchefstroom and the General de la Rey Training Area. The study assessed the extent of settlement growth around military areas from 2011 to 2020 and its broader implications. Geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technologies were employed, with a GIS-based change detection methodology tracking changes in land accessibility due to encroachment. Semi-structured interviews with senior military personnel and former candidates provided qualitative insights using interpretative phenomenological analysis, offering first-hand perspectives on encroachment impacts. The findings revealed significant encroachment by the Marikana and Eleazer Up and Coming Farmers communities, resulting in compromised security, vandalism, and safety risks within military areas. This research highlights the urgent need for policy intervention to protect military lands and prevent further encroachment, ensuring operational integrity and civilian safety. Its innovative combination of GIS analysis and qualitative methods contributes to urban geography, security studies, and governance by offering a comprehensive understanding of these challenges. The study advocates for immediate action by policymakers and stakeholders to address encroachment, safeguard military functionality, and protect affected communities. It provides a foundation for future studies and policy measures in similar contexts, emphasising the importance of integrating geographic and social perspectives to resolve such complex issues.

Environmental Security Revisited

Mark Read — 2024-11-28

The concept “environmental security” grew out of the environmental movement of the 1970s, gaining significant attention in the academic and policy communities at the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. Early writings focused mainly on how security-related activities, including armed conflict, affect the environment, and how environmental issues might influence or drive national or international security. By the early 2000s, numerous perspectives and definitions of environmental security had evolved, and were being debated in scholarly literature, including more subtle ways by which environmental change might influence security. Some scholars contested the very concept of environmental security. By the 2010s, research and writing focused on environmental security diminished, to some extent being replaced by discussions and debates in both academic and policy settings about the relationship between climate change and security (later referred to by some as “climate security”). In recent years, conversations about environmental security are re-emerging, driven in part by an acknowledgment that the overriding focus on climate change security might be too narrow, missing other ways that environmental change influences security, and vice versa. The study on which this article reports, briefly traced the history of environmental security in both academic and policy literature. Next, the article summarises climate change security perspectives, discussing the climate–conflict nexus, and including examples of climate security strategy and policy. The article then explains aspects of environmental security that are excluded or neglected from the climate security discourse, making a case for a return to a more expansive approach to environmental security. Finally, an updated definition of and framework for environmental security are proposed. Environmental security is seen as the ability of individuals, groups, or states to adapt to, mitigate, or avoid environmental change without critical adverse effects, which significantly degrade the integrity, values, or well-being of states, communities, or individuals. The definition incorporates elements of the original, state-focused definition of environmental security, but also includes important elements of human security (that affect community or state security).

Where did you hear that? Narrative Competition and Societal Instability in Burkina Faso

Richard L. Wolfel — 2024-11-28

Coups do not occur randomly. They are the result of significant shocks, or triggers, to a societal system, which is especially catastrophic in societies with high levels of vulnerability. It is often in this context of high vulnerability that global powers act to gain influence throughout the world. Narrative competitions, or information campaigns, are becoming increasingly important as an approach to projecting influence at international scale. Socio-cultural and economic triggers of societal instability are critical spaces where narrative and indirect competitions occur. Explaining how competitors manipulate these country-specific triggers as part of an influence campaign is essential to understanding modern geopolitics. The study on which this article reports, used the Modeling Dense Urban Networks analytical model to explain the influence of economic, geographical, and political changes on the opinion of the local population on crucial societal tipping points in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a region with intense societal vulnerability due to economic inequalities, regional instability brought on by the ongoing conflict in the Sahel, significant environmental security issues, and a distrust of the government and the former colonial power, France. These internal factors of instability strongly influenced the two military coups in 2022. In addition to the internal factors of instability, Burkina Faso is an area of powerful competition between several global powers, each providing a narrative to manipulate societal opinion around these local issues of vulnerability to promote their influence in Burkina Faso at the expense of their adversaries.

Illicit Activities and Border Control in Ngoma, Namibia

Charlene Simataa — 2024-11-28

Ensuring border security and control is essential for maintaining national peace and stability, as it involves security forces monitoring border areas to safeguard communities. The Ngoma border faces difficulties, sharing boundaries with Zambia and Botswana. The current study explored key illegal activities, their effects on the community, and the existing border control measures and challenges. Despite the established border control efforts, significant illicit activities persist in Ngoma. Using a purposive sampling approach, the research obtained data through individual interviews and focus groups discussions with members of the Namibian Police Force, the Namibian Defence Force, Customs and Immigration officials, and community residents. The data were analysed through thematic analysis, revealing that, despite existing control measures, activities, such as poaching, illegal fishing, smuggling, and unauthorised border crossings, remain prevalent. The findings further indicate that border control in the area appears ineffective, largely due to a shortage of adequately trained personnel, limited screening equipment, and a lack of essential resources, such as patrol vehicles and aerial surveillance systems. Based on these insights, border control at Ngoma can be enhanced by integrating modern technologies, such as biometric identification, automated license plate recognition, and drones to improve efficiency and security. Furthermore, implementing training and capacity-building programmes for border law enforcement and customs officers would be advantageous. Engaging local communities through community policing also strengthens relationships between law enforcement and residents. Additionally, regional collaboration with neighbouring countries could help reduce illicit border activities and build stronger diplomatic connections.

Illegal Fishing and Maritime Security: Historical and Contemporary Challenges in Namibia

Richard Obinna Iroanya — 2024-11-28

The study on which this article reports argued that illegal fishing activities in the Namibian territorial waters and exclusive economic zones have implications for maritime security. The study traced the problem of illegal fishing in the country back to colonial times and linked it directly to foreign vessels. The intrusion of foreign vessels into Namibian waters received little interest – or if at all – in terms of the protection of ocean resources by the colonial administration coupled with a lack of regulatory frameworks. It was noted that the pattern of illegal fishing established during colonial times has continued into the present with several consequences. Illegal fishing affects maritime security in Namibia in five main dimensions, namely projection of military power at sea, protection of the marine environment, economic growth, development, and human security. These dimensions of maritime security are integrally linked and mutually reinforcing. It was thus shown that the limitation of sea patrols by the Namibian Navy and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources due to financial constraints caused by illegal fishing activities has a negative influence on the marine environment in terms of destruction and depletion of fish resources. Depletion of fish stocks results in loss of revenue and loss of jobs for coastal community dwellers. Combating illegal fishing is necessary if the marine resources are to be protected and make a significant contribution to the Namibian state. To combat the challenge of illegal fishing, improvement and strengthening of existing mechanisms, international collaboration, cooperation, and coordination between maritime security agencies, and continued engagement with neighbouring states were considered necessary.

Bush Brothers: Life and Death across the Border

Anri Delport — 2024-11-28

Reflections on the Complexities of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from the Global South

Mashudu Mathoho — 2024-11-28

Cultural Security: Theory – Selected Aspects – Case Studies

Barbara Schabowska — 2024-11-28

Routledge Handbook of the Future of Warfare

Raymond Steenkamp Fonseca — 2024-11-28

Introduction to Remote Sensing

Louis M. Du Toit — 2024-11-28