The South African army in its global and local contexts in the early 21st century

The author argues that the South African Army's current force design, based on a 'core force' approach and non-offensive posture from the late 1990s, is inadequate for the realities of 'war among the people'. The analysis highlights the rise of China's influence in Africa, the failure of multilateral institutions, and the necessity of shifting toward intelligence-led, psychological operations to avoid the failures seen in peacekeeping missions like Srebrenica. Locally, the army faces challenges from an ageing force structure, loss of key skills, and the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

• The strategic assumptions of the 1996 White Paper on National Defence and the 1998 Defence Review are no longer applicable because the South African Army now faces a future that is 'radically different' from what was anticipated.
• China's aggressive pursuit of raw materials and oil in Africa has created a new strategic landscape, including the deployment of armed Chinese police in Sudan to protect oil pipelines and the provision of diplomatic cover for the Sudanese government.
• The author argues that 'non-offensive defence' is not a universal principle of warfare and can lead to military paralysis and failure, citing the Dutch experience in Srebrenica where the force was configured to look 'as non-offensive as possible'.
• Modern conflict, described as 'war among the people', requires a shift toward psychological operations and intelligence-led strategies rather than relying solely on the kinetic power of industrial-era army structures.
• The South African Army's 'core force' approach may be insufficient for the requirements of 'war among the people', particularly in hostile environments requiring multinational cooperation and rapid deployment.
• The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is constrained by three primary local impediments: an ageing force structure, the loss of key skills due to early retrenchment of former SADF personnel, and the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
• Multilateral institutions created in the mid-20th century, including the World Bank, IMF, European Project, NATO, and the United Nations, have experienced a 'draining of power' since 2000.

APA

Prins, G. (n.d.). The South African army in its global and local contexts in the early 21st century. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHAP12020.PDF

Chicago

Prins, G. The South African army in its global and local contexts in the early 21st century. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHAP12020.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Prins |first1=G |title=The South African army in its global and local contexts in the early 21st century |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHAP12020.PDF |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{prinsndsouth, author = {Prins, G}, title = {{The South African army in its global and local contexts in the early 21st century}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHAP12020.PDF}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }