Search Climate Insights Directory

This fact sheet introduces evidence-based policing as a methodology to improve police effectiveness and public trust by basing activities on the best existing research rather than intuition or tradition. It outlines a three-step process of targeting, testing, and tracking, and advocates for the adoption of this approach within South African policing to ensure strategies are informed by reliable data and can withstand scrutiny.

The report argues that the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) depends heavily on improving the efficiency, capacity, and security of Africa's maritime transport and port infrastructure to facilitate the movement of goods across the continent.

This report summarizes a public seminar held on November 20, 2009, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, jointly organized by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development (EIIPD). The seminar, titled "Copenhagen Talks on Climate Change and Africa's Response," focused on strengthening a common African position regarding mitigation, adaptation, and compensation ahead of the Copenhagen climate negotiations.

This research paper outlines the systemic challenges of studying crime and criminal justice in Africa, emphasizing the impact of political repression, the legacy of colonialism, and the scarcity of reliable official data. It highlights how 'African solidarity' can lead to non-compliance with international legal protocols and suggests that regional cooperation through the African Union and SARPCCO offers a path toward greater transparency and institutionalized research.

This 2012 briefing reports on the economic and political decline of South Africa, citing poor educational outcomes, rising unemployment, and systemic corruption under President Jacob Zuma. It contrasts South Africa's 2% GDP growth with the 6% average seen in other African nations and notes a shift in the ANC's political culture from sacrifice to self-enrichment.

This report chapter by Kees Kingma examines the processes and impacts of demobilising military personnel in Africa, focusing on how the transition from military to civilian life affects peace, security, and human development.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the challenges facing South Africa's electricity sector, specifically the gap between energy planning and grid planning. Using the International Futures (IFs) forecasting model, the author develops three scenarios to 2050—Current Path, Efficient Grid, and Smarter Grid—to demonstrate how integrated planning, operational flexibility, and coherent policies for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) can improve economic growth and reduce poverty and carbon emissions.

The provided text consists of biographical profiles of various academics, military officers, and researchers associated with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and other international security and defense organizations. It details their educational backgrounds, professional appointments, and areas of expertise in fields such as defense policy, peace missions, and strategic studies.

This report documents a seminar held on 18 March 2009 by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, focusing on the African Union's (AU) policy regarding unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) in Africa. The seminar, featuring presenters Issaka K. Souaré and Francis Ikome, evaluated the effectiveness of the Lomé Declaration and the AU's Constitutive Act in deterring military coups and other unconstitutional power shifts, while proposing reforms to create a 'New African Governance Architecture' (NAGA).

The provided text is the bibliography section of a report titled "The Enemy Within," published by the Institute for Security Studies. It lists a comprehensive array of books, journal articles, conference papers, government policies, interviews, and international documents primarily focused on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, its impact on military and uniformed services, and public health responses across sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular emphasis on Botswana.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the nature, impact, and service delivery responses to violence against women in South Africa. Based on interviews with 1,000 survivors across nine provinces, the study analyzes economic, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, highlighting the normalization of domestic violence and the systemic failures of police, medical, and legal services in providing effective support and protection.

This guide, published by the Institute for Security Studies in March 2015, provides a foundational framework for Members of Parliament (MPs) to understand and oversee the national budget process in South Africa. It details the legal mandates, the stages of the budget cycle, the role of various government spheres, and provides a toolkit for quantitative budget analysis to enhance legislative oversight and accountability.

This report provides a civil society perspective on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe, with a specific focus on the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF). It examines the intersection of national epidemiology, political-economic crises, and military policies, highlighting the high prevalence of HIV within the armed forces and the risks associated with external deployments.

This report chapter, authored by Martin Rupiya for the Institute for Security Studies, examines the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the militaries of Southern African nations. Based on empirical evidence from Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, the text identifies common trends in disease transmission, the failure of states to implement timely policies, and the specific challenges faced by defence forces regarding recruitment, operational effectiveness, and the social dynamics of testing.

This document is an acknowledgments page for a book regarding restorative justice practice in South Africa, noting the funding and personnel involved in the research.

This chapter explores the definition and application of restorative justice, particularly in South Africa. It discusses the lack of a universal definition, proposes a 'continuum' for measuring the restorativeness of programs, and highlights the influence of African indigenous justice systems. The text outlines how restorative justice can be applied at various stages of the criminal justice process—from pre-trial diversion to post-sentencing—and argues that, when professionally managed, it can be effective even in cases of serious violence or power imbalances.

This report chapter details the historical development and implementation of restorative justice (RJ) in South Africa, tracing its evolution from early victim-offender mediation projects in the 1990s to the integration of community-based justice and government policy initiatives.

This executive summary describes a study of over sixty restorative justice projects in South Africa. It finds that while some quality activity exists across multiple sectors, it is insufficient to meet demand and is hindered by a lack of proper funding.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the challenges of defence economics in Africa, focusing on the need for transparency, accountability, and efficiency in military budgeting. It contrasts widespread opaque practices across the continent with the structured, transparent fiscal management system used in South Africa.

This research paper by Patrick Mulenga examines the Zambian government's efforts to manage competing social, economic, and security needs within a constrained fiscal environment. The author argues that sustainable provision for these needs depends on achieving high economic growth and macroeconomic stability, which in turn attracts the investment necessary to expand the state's resource envelope.