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| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
175495
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| Summary/Abstract |
The study of security issues almost always brings with it a feeling of pessimism, as security practitioners and scholars look through a lens of the world that forms a perspective of threats against the interests of states and the people who live in it. It is easy to forget that Africa is a rich continent with many states showing annual growth despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, another catastrophe the people of Africa are dealing with better than states in the northern hemisphere. However, the international trend, such as the cynical economic self-interest of political rulers who isolate themselves from the citizens of the state, is also a reality in some African states. Flourishing on social divides such as ethnicity, religious difference and outdated ideologies, for a small group of winner-takes-all rulers, it is business-as-usual when they apply financial resources to maintain their armed forces to deal with daily criminality, violent protests and political resistance. The result is that securing the livelihoods and general well-being of increasingly disgruntled citizens (a state responsibility) is compromised. Thus, the insecure conditions created by the broken relationships between the people and those who govern them pose a challenge to the security of nation states in Africa. Furthermore, the populist reaction of citizens against ineffective governance exposes the limitations of global security management systems, such as that of the UN, AU and the peace and security structure of regional communities, in dealing security challenges within states.
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| 2 |
ID:
175498
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Botswana national security complex is fashioned around traditional (military) threats to security. This is demonstrated through the National Security Act and also by the country’s defense expenditure as a component of its GDP. Defense expenditure routinely takes the second largest share of GDP in Botswana. The outbreak of the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-COV-2) or COVID-19, however, suggests a relook at Botswana’s national security towards none traditional security threats- in this case pandemics. The case for this is made clear by the evidently poor readiness to deal with possible mass infections both from a health budgetary perspective, and the availability of medical personal and equipment. This paper argues for securitisation of health care in Botswana- especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is possible through diversion of a portion current defense spending towards health care.
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| 3 |
ID:
175499
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| Summary/Abstract |
This analysis draws from security and state spending data to measure the human security experience in South Sudan. The results show a more volatile security environment following independence. Defence expenditure and human security, as measured in the number of insecurity episodes, are unrelated. Descriptive evidence indicates that human security and security expenditure tend to vary unpredictably over time, a signal that security sector spending is unresponsive to the country's security predicaments. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models suggest the same: security sector spending does not contain local insecurity. Instead, more defence investment seems to correlate with insecurity; an additional 1% spent on security translates to at least 60 deaths. This finding reflects the importance of reviewing South Sudan's security sector in order to properly situate the reforms currently outlined in Chapter II of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). As these reforms get implemented, security sector expenditures need strict oversight, with improved accountability measures integrated to minimise inefficiencies and foster sustainable socioeconomic and security results. Lastly, recent improvements in the security situation, as represented by significant reductions in violence, should be strategically leveraged to enable greater public confidence and trust in the recently inaugurated R-ARCSS.
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| 4 |
ID:
175496
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article draws on ethnographic data from South Africa to show that while burglaries may commonly be once-off incidents, many households are repeatedly victimised. In such situations, victims are retargeted and intimidated by the same burglars. Through two exemplary cases of middle- and lower-middle-income households, which are examples of ‘return’ and ‘prolonged’ burglaries, I illustrate that these burglaries are defined by four main characteristics: long duration, the targeted theft of possessions, remaining marks and the close proximity of burglars. I suggest that these burglaries are a way of laying claim to households through symbolic means, rather than physical confrontation. This has lasting social, emotional and financial repercussions for the victims. As relating to repeat-victimisation, burglaries deserve further attention from analysts.
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| 5 |
ID:
175497
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article uses the case of Zimbabwe to explore how militarisation endangers both human and state security. While militarisation in Zimbabwe manifested itself in several ways, this study focuses on prioritising military solutions to most of the real or perceived security problems in the country between 2000 and 2008. Using data collected through review of available literature and interviews with officials in the public and private sectors, the article argues that the military-style operations were a threat to order and national security in both the short term and long run because they undermined human security. This is the case despite the fact that the military-style operations, similar to other manifestations of militarisation in Zimbabwe, were mooted and implemented framed in human and state security discourses. The article concludes that the prioritisation of military solutions to every security problem works to safeguard the governing elite but worsens instead of addressing the citizens’ problems with far-reaching implications for human and state security. For human security to be realised, Zimbabwe needs to discontinue militarised governance and capacitate responsible government ministries and departments.
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