Melding War and Politics in Namibia: South Africa's Counterinsurgency Campaign, 1966-1989

Abstract

Namibia was the last League of Nations mandated territory to receive independence because the South African Government not only refused to place it under the United Nations trusteeship system but also refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of any trans-tribal African nationalism in the territory which they termed South West Africa. Following the 1966 decision of the International Court of Justice to uphold the South African position on Namibia, African nationalists under the banner of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO of Namibia) undertook a lengthy insurgency campaign involving military operations by the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). The brunt of the South African counterinsurgency campaign was waged by the South African Defense Force (SADF) in conjunction with the local police units. This article considers the conflict between the SADF and the PLAN in terms of small unit warfare, imported and localized counterinsurgency doctrine, the efficacy and application of civic action by SADF units, allegations of torture made by both sides, the recruitment of SADF and local territorial forces, and the international political ramifications of this lengthy, near-intractable war.