Unde Venis et Quo Vadis?

The research paper examines the failure to operationalize the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, noting a deadlock between member states over its legal and operational structure. It critiques a 1997 Review and Rationalisation Report for ignoring the security-development nexus and suggests that SADC's economic focus is incompatible with the sensitivities of defence co-operation. By comparing SADC to regional arrangements like L'ANAD in West Africa, ASEAN in Southeast Asia, and the OSCE and WEU in Europe, the author argues that Southern Africa should 'divorce' its security mechanism from SADC to create a dedicated, flexible security convention or union focused on conflict prevention and democratic stability.

• The 1997 Review and Rationalisation of the SADC Programme of Action (SPA) found that only 22 per cent of projects by number and 12 per cent by monetary value met the criteria for being immediately acceptable as regional SADC projects, suggesting many were actually national projects.
• The Review and Rationalisation report is criticized for failing to address the critical link between development and security, as well as omitting key SADC Treaty principles such as human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
• There is a fundamental disagreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe regarding the legal structure of the Organ for Politics, Defence and Security; South Africa views it as deriving from Article 10 of the SADC Treaty, while Zimbabwe prefers a flexible and informal basis similar to the former Front-Line States (FLS).
• The author argues that SADC's current institutional focus on business principles and economic integration makes it unsuited for managing politics, defence, and security, necessitating an 'amicable divorce' between the two functions.
• Comparative analysis of L'ANAD in West Africa shows a successful model of a defensive alliance that prioritizes dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes, though its role has been overshadowed by ECOWAS interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
• The OSCE provides a model for a comprehensive approach to security that includes election monitoring and the management of national minorities, which the author suggests is highly relevant to Southern Africa's history of apartheid and ethnic governance.
• The Western European Union (WEU) demonstrates the utility of a dedicated security organization that allows for incremental expansion through different membership categories without overextending its capacity.
• The author recommends the creation of a 'Southern African Security Convention' or a 'Southern African Union' to establish a flexible legal framework for security co-operation, separate from the economic mandates of SADC.

APA

Malan, M. (1998). Unde Venis et Quo Vadis? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono19.pdf

Chicago

Malan, Mark. Unde Venis et Quo Vadis? Institute for Security Studies, 1998. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono19.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malan |first1=Mark |title=Unde Venis et Quo Vadis? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 1998 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono19.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malan1998unde, author = {Malan, Mark}, title = {{Unde Venis et Quo Vadis?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1998}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono19.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }