The Integration of the Military in Post-liberation South Africa: The Contribution of Revolutionary Armies

Abstract

South Africa, following its protracted negotiation process before the adoption of the Interim Constitution (1994), embarked on the integration of its former adversarial military forces. The process was to continue under the new Constitution as adopted in 1996 (Act 108 of 1996). The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was to consist of the South African Defence Force (SADF), the (semi) conventional military force of the Apartheid Regime, the so-called homeland-armies (referred to. by some as the "forgotten armies of the TBVC" states), and the armed wings of the ANC and PAC (Umkhonto we Sizwe [MK] and the Azanian People's Liberation Army [APLA]). This process of integration against the military history of South Africa is the subject of this article. The potential and real contribution of the former revolutionary armies to the integration process is discussed, respectively, especially areas such as intellectuality in soldiering, what the author calls adaptational doctrines, peace operations, and the role of a new, more legitimate defense force in social reconstruction.