Decisions, decisions: South Africa's foray into regional peace operations

This paper provides a brief overview of the most salient aspects of the White Paper on Peace Missions and examines recent deployments of the SANDF

This paper first provides a brief overview of the most salient aspects of the White Paper on Peace Missions and then examines recent deployments of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in a peace support role, with specific reference to the decision-making process. The aim is to measure past practice against the policy guidelines for such deployment, and to suggest ways to close the gaps between policy and practice.

Authors

Vanessa Kent is a senior researcher at the ISS.

Mark Malan is the head of the Peace Missions Programme at the ISS.