Pondering the culture of violence in Lesotho: a case for demilitarisation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lesotho's politics is characterised by a pervasive culture of violence that has historically wreaked havoc on society. At the heart of Lesotho's culture of violence lies the historical trend of militarisation of politics and politicization of the military. The political elites often enlist support of the security establishment with a view to tilt the balance of forces in their favour against their opponents. The security establishment, on its part, enters the political fray in pursuit of the individual interests of those in command and/or its corporate interest. This militarisation explains, in part, recurrent political instability and crisis in Lesotho that has invited external intervention by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Lesotho needs to change course away towards a culture of peace through demilitarisation through either security sector reform of security sector transformation. The former entails civilian control over the army. The latter may entail disbanding the army.