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- Editorial
Authors: Evert Kleynhans, Anri Delport
Pages: 1 - 4
Abstract: No abstract
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- Measuring cybersecurity awareness in a South African military sample
Authors: Kyle Bester, Danille Elize Arendse
Pages: 5 - 33
Abstract: Cyberspace has been identified as a new domain of warfare; awareness of cyber threats is therefore crucial for members of the military because it allows for greater insight into potential cyber threats and attacks. Furthermore, developing cybersecurity awareness may assist in the detection of cyber threats in the workplace, and may further assist members of the military to be cognisant of their own vulnerability in cyberspace. In South Africa, cybersecurity is a topic of interest, and the South African National Defence Force has highlighted the need to enhance its cybersecurity capacity. The Cybersecurity Orientation Questionnaire was developed for members of the South African military with the fundamental objective of assessing their cybersecurity awareness as part of a larger study. The purpose of the study on which this article is based, was to explore the initial validation of the Questionnaire using a South African military sample. The study design was quantitive design was quantitative, and the reliability and factor structure of the Questionnaire were analysed by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The sample size consisted of 182 military participants who were based at two military educational institutions. The Questionnaire showed acceptable reliability for research purposes (r = .79; p = .000) and the prominent three-factor structure was in line with the theorised factors envisioned during the development of the Questionnaire. Initial validation of the Questionnaire showed promising results for assessing cybersecurity awareness in the South African military sample. This study therefore emphasises the importance of developing instruments specifically for the South African military context.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- Colonel Jan Breytenbach – military historian or storyteller' An analysis
of Breytenbach’s work using a military history conceptual framework
Authors: Carl Punt
Pages: 35 - 58
Abstract: Books on the South African Border War have flooded the popular market in the last two decades. Historians, journalists, and particularly ex-soldiers – often amateur writers – have tapped into the market. The genres of books include, but are not limited to, personal accounts, autobiographies, regimental histories, journalist accounts, and academic books. Jan Breytenbach was one of the first South African Defence Force officers to write about the Border War. He published seven books, and paved the way for many writers to follow in his footsteps. Most of his books focus on the history of 32 Battalion. Against this background, the study on which this article is based, aimed to analyse Breytenbach’s writing using a conceptual framework put forward by military historians.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- Reflecting on the rise and decline of the South African Defence Industry
Authors: Kevin Gopaul, Elma van der Lingen, Rudolph Oosthuizen
Pages: 59 - 85
Abstract: The South African Defence Industry has undergone several significant changes during the past six decades, with its current state being deemed unfavourable for continued survivability. To develop a robust understanding of the industry, a review of the scientific literature (and government policies) has been undertaken to chart the trends in the industry through the decades. South African political ideologies in the sixties and seventies resulted in a need for self-sufficiency in defence. By the late eighties, increased military spending resulted in a powerful and capable defence industry, but the end of apartheid and regional conflicts saw an expected sharp drop in the defence budget. The Strategic Defence Package offered some respite in terms of exports, but this has declined in the recent past. The defence budget has remained at a steady low value for two decades, with no real possibility of an increase. To maintain relevance and ensure organisational resilience, the remnants of the South African Defence Industry should use the Defence Industry Strategy as a baseline to develop robust local relationships to drive innovation and foster economic growth, while also strengthening international market share by strengthening unique South African technologies.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- United States–Kenyan asymmetry in counterterrorism cooperation: An
assessment of the efforts of the United States and Kenya in East Africa
Authors: Sky L Mkuti, Jo-Ansie van Wyk, Oluwaseun Tella
Pages: 87 - 121
Abstract: On 11 September 2001, the world witnessed a drastic change in the global security landscape that influenced the dynamics of United States counterterrorism. The United States expanded its global alliances, including its financial assistance and cooperation scope, in East Africa as well. A fundamental transformation in the United States Defence Foreign Policy towards Africa was marked by a growing reliance by the United States on African partners, such as Kenya. Despite visible power disparities between the United States and Kenyan asymmetric relations, the two states set an unmatched counterterrorism partnership in East Africa – even with the growing criticism of the United States militarisation in some parts of Africa, such as in the Sahel region, which remains prone to coups despite enduring counterterrorism interventions by the United States. What is particularly interesting is how the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya enhanced a stable and multidimensional implementation of counterterrorism in East Africa. The dynamics of these asymmetric relations on counterterrorism demystify the perception that asymmetric relations between powerful and weak states are inherently unstable. Employing secondary data, the study on which this article reports, sought to deconstruct such rhetoric by conceptualising asymmetry whilst identifying five main conceptualisations of asymmetry theory that characterises the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya. Thereafter, by taking stock of the multidimensional efforts by the United States and Kenya, it is argued that triangular asymmetries are the significant force multipliers of stability and normalcy in asymmetric relations.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- South African responses to new Soviet air defence systems in Angola in the
1980s
Authors: Janet Szabo
Pages: 123 - 142
Abstract: Because of its air superiority during the counter-insurgency conflict against the South West Africa People’s Organisation the South African Air Force had neglected to build up modern air and counter-air defences. When Soviet air defence systems were deployed in Angola in the 1980s, South Africa was forced to reconsider their tactics and responses to the war. The Soviet systems included early warning networks, surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns to cover troops advancing in the field, and fighter aircraft. The South Africans watched the build-up in the region with concern, viewing it as the precursor to offensive action, given Soviet air defence doctrine. While this build-up was also observed in the neighbouring Southern African countries and had the appearance of a purely defensive stance, given Soviet air defence doctrine, South Africa viewed this as the first steps to offensive actions in Angola and possibly Namibia (then South West Africa) and the start of a dangerous escalation in the military situation. In response, the SADF adopted a strong defensive stance and improved its own air defence capabilities to ensure that it was not outclassed. The South African Air Force also introduced new tactics. These included the introduction of toss-bombing, making greater use of precisionguided missiles and bombs, and investing more in research in terms of missiles and new technology for their aircraft.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- On charges of treason: The high treason case against the Afrikaans
broadcasters of Radio Zeesen after the Second World War
Authors: Suné Kleynhans
Pages: 143 - 168
Abstract: While the Second World War was characterised by battles and intelligence networks, it also involved cases of treason and military legal processes – and South Africa was no exception. The South African involvement in the war produced high treason cases, but trials of those historical figures who worked “behind the scenes” are occasionally neglected within academic literature on the South African history surrounding the Second World War. An example of such is the case of high treason of four Afrikaner men accused of broadcasting propaganda from Radio Zeesen to South Africa in Afrikaans, with the aim of jeopardising the South African war effort. This propaganda was carried out strategically within the context of existing Afrikaner resistance against participation in the war. The four accused were Sidney Erich Holm, Jan Adriaan Strauss, Johannes Jacobus Snoek, and Michael Johannes Pienaar. This article focuses on the trials of the four men accused as a series of lesser-known cases in South African history. The aim of the article is to provide a historical narrative of the cases. After providing the necessary contextualisation, the positions of the prosecution and defence, as well as the verdicts of the trials will be outlined. The objective of this article is not to offer a detailed analysis of the criminal justice procedure or the laws surrounding the cases, but rather to make a historiographic contribution to an overlooked aspect of South African history.
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- How to Fight a War
Authors: David Jacobs
Pages: 169 - 172
Abstract: No abstract
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- National Security Surveillance in Southern Africa: An Anti-Capitalist
Perspective
Authors: Evert Jordaan
Pages: 173 - 176
Abstract: No abstract
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- The Battle of Magersfontein: Victory and Defeat on the South African Veld,
10–12 December 1899
Authors: Unarine Emmanuel Maduwa
Pages: 177 - 178
Abstract: No abstract
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
- Fascists, Fabricators and Fantasists: Antisemitism in South Africa from
1948 to the Present
Authors: Graeme Plint
Pages: 179 - 182
Abstract: No abstract
PubDate: 2024-07-29
Issue No: Vol. 52, No. 1 (2024)
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