Suchergebnisse

Over the past two centuries, the police have perpetrated massacres in response to protest action in numerous countries. Available scholarly literature has typically focused on the circumstances that contributed to such mass killings, but rarely has there been consideration of the impact that such massacres subsequently may have had on the police organisation. Hence, this article will explore the relationship between massacres perpetrated by the police and police reform, with a particular focus on South Africa. The article concludes that, in the context of public order policing, massacres perpetuated by the police can contribute towards relatively immediate police reforms, particularly in terms of police strategies and tactics. In some circumstances, massacres have even led to some restructuring of the police organisation. The nature of the government and the policing environment appeared to be key determinants of the types of police reforms, post-massacre.

Social and territorial boundaries have been fundamental to the approaches and practices of policing bodies in South Africa for centuries, from the mounted colonial paramilitary forces of the 1800s to the 21st century professional police. Boundaries have not only been a central mechanism that the police have consistently used to control and regulate the general population, but have also been catalysts for change in terms of operational policing strategies and tactics. This has typically been the case when a threat has been ascribed to a bounded area and/or populations that reside within the confines of the boundary, or on the other side of the boundary. The nature of the such a threat is considered to be even more severe when communities within the bounded space, or on the other side of the boundary, acquire significant quantities of firearms and ammunition, as this provides such populations with the lethal technology to defy and contest the police's coercive authority and ability to conserve boundaries relating to the maintenance of order and the enforcement of laws. South Africa is a distinctly relevant case study for an examination of the relationship between boundaries and the police as for the past three and a half centuries South Africa's diverse policing history has been profoundly framed by territorial, social and political boundaries. The police and the proto-police have been at the sharp edge of the application of authority by assorted forms of government, and have often acted to safeguard the interests of economic and political elites. That is, the police and formal policing bodies have been required to subdue and suppress groups and individuals that resisted or threatened the process of state building and resource extraction. The police were also regularly deployed to protect the territorial borders of South Africa from menacing others. By means of this historical analysis of South Africa, this thesis introduces a new concept, 'police frontierism', which illuminates the nature of the relationships between the police, policing and boundaries, and can potentially be used for future case study research. It is an alternative way of conceptualising policing, one in which police work is fundamentally framed by social and territorial boundaries. Such boundaries delineate perceived safe or 'civilised' spaces from dangerous or 'uncivilised' ones. The police tend to concentrate their resources in the frontier zone immediately adjacent to the boundary in order to preserve or extend the boundary of safety and 'civilisation', and restrict, subdue or eliminate those individuals, groups or circumstances from the 'uncivilised' spaces that a government authority or elites have deemed to be a threat to order and peace. An essential dynamic of this policing approach is that the boundary and the adjoining frontier zone strongly influence police practices and behaviour in this context. In particular, territorial and social delineations amplify and distort existing police prejudices against those communities on the other side of the boundary. The police often engage in othering, where the communities of interest are viewed negatively, and are predominantly seen as agents of disorder and law breaking. This othering may lead to an intensification of aggressive police behaviour towards the targeted communities.

The implementation of effective Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes in countries emerging from violent conflict are essential for building and maintaining peace and security. In many instances the disarmament and demobilisation of former combatants was achieved, but reintegration remained a challenge, due to the long-term focus and the substantial resources that are required for such a process to be successful. Reintegration processes are, nonetheless, often implemented in fragile environments, that include fragmented economies, in which most income generating activities are informal or unreported. Such economies are often characterised by unregulated, illicit activities, in which official governance is weak. This report is comprised of three parts. Part one includes a review of the literature on the reintegration of former combatants and the informal economy in Africa; a synopsis of post-conflict economies; and an outline of the analytical framework. Part two presents the findings of the case study research, focusing on the economies and DDR processes in each of the three countries, as well as assessing the reintegration process in relation to the informal economy. The third component of the report provides a comparative analysis of, and conclusions from, the research findings.

As brokers are a crucial link in the chain of arms transfers to militaries, policing agencies, militias and rebel groups, the development and implementation of controls on arms brokering activities has drawn considerable global attention, particularly within the United Nations system. A number of international, regional and subregional multilateral agreements that aim to eradicate the uncontrolled proliferation of arms include recommendations and commitments to control brokering activities. Their objectives are to regulate licit brokering, which typically relates to the facilitation of legal government-to-government arms, ammunition and military equipment transfers, and to distinguish this clearly from illicit brokering, which generally entails the diversion of legitimately sourced arms, ammunition and military equipment into criminal markets; the facilitation of arms transfers in violation of United Nations Security Council arms embargoes; or the facilitation of access to arms for transnational organized crime syndicates. This article focuses on arms brokering activity and regulation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a region that was plagued by illicit arms brokering in the 1990s and early 2000s, and that in 2001 established a firearms and ammunition control protocol, a regional instrument to control the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons, which includes provisions on arms brokering. Adapted from the source document.

Reviewing how the legacy of Namibia's armed conflict has influenced its path of post-conflict reconstruction, the article reflects on the limitations and failures of efforts geared toward the fostering of sustainable peace and the consolidation of democracy. It begins with a short history of the Namibian conflict, then details the immediate post- independence period, focusing on peacebuilding and democratic consolidation (or the lack thereof), and concludes by considering the militaristic dimensions of governance and nation-building in Namibia, emphasizing the links between the legacy of armed violence and contemporary life and politics in this southern African country.