The SADC Organ: Challenges in the new millennium

This paper suggests that in an unstable international security environment, the SADC Organ appears destined for a challenging period

The SADC Organ, formed in 1996 to harmonise regional security issues, has been the single most important security related development in the Southern African region of late. The focus of this paper is on some of the challenges the SADC Organ faces in this new millennium. These challenges include inter- and intra-state conflicts; balancing state sovereignty with collaborative approaches; budgetary constraints; as well as political intransigence and intolerance. The paper suggests that, in an unstable international security environment, the SADC Organ appears destined for a challenging period, which can only be managed through the development of a cohesive resilient regional body with functional structures. 

Authors

Lt Gen. Fisher is the Commander of the Botswana Defence Force and Dr Ngoma is a Senior Researcher with the Institute for Security Studies.