Volume 7 Number 1

"Human security implies the absence of threat to human life, lifestyle and culture. In the African context, the most salient of these threats emanate from ethno-political conflict, small arms proliferation, the displacement of people, hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, crime and corruption ... The concept of human security emphasises the fact that security must be interpreted as security for people, and not security for land, state or regime."

These words are the basis of the Institute for Security Studies` commitment to enhance human security in Africa. In this, the first issue of the African Security Review for 1998, we have made a few changes, both aesthetic and substantive, which are in keeping with the growth of the Institute. We have made a commitment to expand the focus of the Review more into Africa and to cover a wider range of African security-related issues. At the same time, we have added new sections to the Review, including Africa Focus which will present an overview of current events in Africa, written by Mr Richard Cornwell, the head of the Operational African Security Information Service (OASIS) at the ISS.

Human security is a broad term that encompasses many of the activities in which the Institute is engaged. The articles in this issue of the Review complement the work of the Institute and give us new perspectives on current issues. In the first of a two-part article, Sayed and Bruce discuss the need for a definition of police corruption that encompasses both the legal definition of corruption but which also includes activities that fall outside of legal definitions but are popularly thought of, and referred to, as corruption.

Makoa, in his article, gives an overview of the Royal Lesotho Mounted Police and the events which led to the 1997 mutiny by the police. He reflects on the system of policing inherited from Lesotho`s colonial past and the police`s subsequent development as a force that resembles a conventional army. He suggests that the RLMP has historically served as a military organisation, a function which led to the mutiny and may lead to others.

Taken from an ISS conference on peace support operations, Pierre Steyn, the South African Secretary of Defence, discusses the challenges facing South African involvement in peace support operations. His article is complemented by that of Rossouw, who develops definitions for the terms currently being used to describe what have been peacekeeping missions and now are often called peace support operations.

Sudan is a country with a long and complicated history. In his article, Dr Korwa Adar identifies the internal actors involved in the civil war between the north and south and neighbouring and more distant countries which have been drawn into the conflict. While providing no solutions, he imparts a deeper understanding of the situation.

In the final article of this issue, Van Vuuren discusses the changing face of modern warfare, which he identifies as a shift from inter-state, static orders of battle and clear rules of engagement towards intra-state conflicts with non-linear force structures and the difficulty of obtaining strategic early warning. He posits whether this change in warfare will be felt in Africa, and while providing no answers on where warfare is headed in Africa, gives a starting point for further discussions on the issue.

To buy your copy click here