{"title":"A military history of the Cold War","authors":"Jan-ad Stemmet","doi":"10.5787/50-1-1356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-1-1356","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85776503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Military strategy: A global history","authors":"D. Jacobs","doi":"10.5787/50-1-1358","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-1-1358","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83294737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rhino War: A general’s bold strategy in the Kruger National Park","authors":"Ashwell Glasson","doi":"10.5787/50-3-1388","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-3-1388","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85089446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The death penalty was long practised in South Africa as one of the sentence options for capital crimes such as murder, rape, treason, terrorism, and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Its practice has a matching effort for its abolishment or restricted application. Reflecting on some specific historical periods of the practice of the death penalty in South Africa, the author sought to contextualise the article, namely to understand the socio-political experience and perception of the death penalty in order to gauge its current relevance. The goal of the study on which this article reports was to determine whether the death penalty had a deterrent effect on capital crimes in South Africa during the pre-1996 constitutional period. In order to achieve the goal of the deterrence of serious crimes by the death sentence in South Africa, the author discusses legislation, case law, execution patterns and deterrence literature in its context.
{"title":"Historical reflections on the deterrent effect of the death penalty on capital crimes in South Africa: Lessons from 1917–1995","authors":"C. Magobotiti","doi":"10.5787/50-3-1393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-3-1393","url":null,"abstract":"The death penalty was long practised in South Africa as one of the sentence options for capital crimes such as murder, rape, treason, terrorism, and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Its practice has a matching effort for its abolishment or restricted application. Reflecting on some specific historical periods of the practice of the death penalty in South Africa, the author sought to contextualise the article, namely to understand the socio-political experience and perception of the death penalty in order to gauge its current relevance. The goal of the study on which this article reports was to determine whether the death penalty had a deterrent effect on capital crimes in South Africa during the pre-1996 constitutional period. In order to achieve the goal of the deterrence of serious crimes by the death sentence in South Africa, the author discusses legislation, case law, execution patterns and deterrence literature in its context.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85632732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Food became scarce during the South African War (1899–1902), which led to large numbers of the population dying from starvation or diseases related to hunger. This was due to certain towns in the country being under siege, while farms and homesteads were burned down. The study on which this article is based, examined three main causes of food shortages during the South African War: the unequal distribution of food rations during the siege of Mafikeng, particularly in the concentration camps; complaints by white communities about the “spoiling of natives”; and the introduction of the “no work, no food” policy. The study further reviewed the use of food during commemorations following the establishment of the so-called relief of Mafeking dinners.
{"title":"“From spoiling natives to no work, no food”: Food scarcity and the controversy of food rations during the South African War","authors":"Mpho Manaka","doi":"10.5787/50-3-1382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-3-1382","url":null,"abstract":"Food became scarce during the South African War (1899–1902), which led to large numbers of the population dying from starvation or diseases related to hunger. This was due to certain towns in the country being under siege, while farms and homesteads were burned down. The study on which this article is based, examined three main causes of food shortages during the South African War: the unequal distribution of food rations during the siege of Mafikeng, particularly in the concentration camps; complaints by white communities about the “spoiling of natives”; and the introduction of the “no work, no food” policy. The study further reviewed the use of food during commemorations following the establishment of the so-called relief of Mafeking dinners.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75042665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The study on which this article reports, addressed the problem with which modern military leaders on the battlefield are faced in assisting the soldier at basic level to make sense of what is happening. In this study, the term ‘sensemaker’ implied a process of individual and group sensemaking that forms the basis for meaning-making in the volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world within which soldiers are functioning. The authors postulate a best-fit world view for military leaders in this military leadership sensemaking and meaning-making nexus. They coined ‘social constructivism in complexity’ where the military leader acts as a guide for soldiers through a sensemaking process. This process is graphically represented, and requires a toolkit to assist military leaders in working as sensemakers on the battlefield. The article concludes with recommendations to military psychologists and military educators who have to make policy changes to develop and implement such a toolkit for sensemaking on the battlefield.
{"title":"The modern military leader as sensemaker on the battlefield","authors":"N. Ntusi","doi":"10.5787/50-2-1371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-2-1371","url":null,"abstract":"The study on which this article reports, addressed the problem with which modern military leaders on the battlefield are faced in assisting the soldier at basic level to make sense of what is happening. In this study, the term ‘sensemaker’ implied a process of individual and group sensemaking that forms the basis for meaning-making in the volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world within which soldiers are functioning. The authors postulate a best-fit world view for military leaders in this military leadership sensemaking and meaning-making nexus. They coined ‘social constructivism in complexity’ where the military leader acts as a guide for soldiers through a sensemaking process. This process is graphically represented, and requires a toolkit to assist military leaders in working as sensemakers on the battlefield. The article concludes with recommendations to military psychologists and military educators who have to make policy changes to develop and implement such a toolkit for sensemaking on the battlefield.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74365980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Covid-19 pandemic presented a period of unprecedented uncertainty. The repatriation of South African citizens from Wuhan was a first for the South African government. These special circumstances of risk presented a unique opportunity to explore experiences of military members who were at the frontline. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members involved in the first South African repatriation of its citizens due to the Covid-19 crisis. This included aspects such as possible stigma, perceptions and emotions towards Covid-19, repatriation, and quarantine experienced by the SANDF members. A quantitative research approach was adopted for this study. The exploratory study used purposive sampling to include only military members involved in the first South African repatriation and quarantine procedure for the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample comprised 13 SANDF regular force members of whom 85% had tertiary qualifications. These military members were asked to complete informed consent forms and a newly created questionnaire, the Stigma and Related Matters Questionnaire. A reliability, correlation and frequency analysis was performed through SPSS. Cronbach’s alpha indicated high reliability and several strong relationships among the statements. The findings indicated that the military members involved in the return and quarantine of repatriated South Africans, were mostly positive and supportive of virus containment measures and lockdown practices. Military members did not report holding any stigmatising or discriminatory beliefs around Covid-19. These responses are in contrast with literature from other countries where people reported experiencing severe discrimination. The current responses however also support literature that reports positive perceptions on virus containment measures. More research is recommended as the Covid-19 pandemic persists in South Africa.
{"title":"Safe and optimistic: Experiences of military members after the first repatriation of South Africans during the Covid-19 pandemic","authors":"D. Arendse","doi":"10.5787/50-2-1370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-2-1370","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 pandemic presented a period of unprecedented uncertainty. The repatriation of South African citizens from Wuhan was a first for the South African government. These special circumstances of risk presented a unique opportunity to explore experiences of military members who were at the frontline. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members involved in the first South African repatriation of its citizens due to the Covid-19 crisis. This included aspects such as possible stigma, perceptions and emotions towards Covid-19, repatriation, and quarantine experienced by the SANDF members. A quantitative research approach was adopted for this study. The exploratory study used purposive sampling to include only military members involved in the first South African repatriation and quarantine procedure for the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample comprised 13 SANDF regular force members of whom 85% had tertiary qualifications. These military members were asked to complete informed consent forms and a newly created questionnaire, the Stigma and Related Matters Questionnaire. A reliability, correlation and frequency analysis was performed through SPSS. Cronbach’s alpha indicated high reliability and several strong relationships among the statements. The findings indicated that the military members involved in the return and quarantine of repatriated South Africans, were mostly positive and supportive of virus containment measures and lockdown practices. Military members did not report holding any stigmatising or discriminatory beliefs around Covid-19. These responses are in contrast with literature from other countries where people reported experiencing severe discrimination. The current responses however also support literature that reports positive perceptions on virus containment measures. More research is recommended as the Covid-19 pandemic persists in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":" 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72380786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Historians, journalists and writers often contrast the First World War with conflicts of previous centuries based on its highly industrialised nature and scale. They write how horse-drawn wagons and mounted infantry made way for highly mobile machines. They also note how industry, alongside government and society, co-operated more closely than before to build a growing number of new technologies. Such developments saw aircraft, tanks, submarines and chemical weapons make their military debut in this global conflict. Armies also carried out logistics and supply operations on a greater scale and over wider distances than before. In addition, belligerent nations mobilised more manpower and over greater geographical distances than ever before. The number of mutilated men and war dead due to the destructive power of weapons and munitions was also greater than ever experienced. Apart from the physically maimed, the psychological impact of the horrors of the war gained new proportions and intensity. For these reasons, it is hardly surprising that the conflict between 1914 and 1918 became known as the Great War since every aspect of the war occurred on a ‘greater’ scale. At the same time, the war can be described as ‘great’ due to its beneficial contribution to humankind – as unlikely as that might seem. Due to the war, a greater number of lives could be saved by medical personnel than claimed by hostilities if weighed on a balance sheet over the long term. The most recent experience of the viral pandemic was evidence of this when governments, physicians and scientists dusted off the lessons learned from a century past. But, unlike them, their predecessors often did not have such advantages at the turn of the twentieth century. The contributions of these men, and occasionally women, gave birth to modern medicine, as Thomas Helling’s latest publication suggests. The outcome of the war was therefore not only destructive but also constructive since new knowledge, technology and incentives ushered in a new age of medicine from which future generations benefited and are still benefiting.
{"title":"The Great War and the birth of modern medicine","authors":"Anri Delport","doi":"10.5787/50-2-1366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-2-1366","url":null,"abstract":"Historians, journalists and writers often contrast the First World War with conflicts of previous centuries based on its highly industrialised nature and scale. They write how horse-drawn wagons and mounted infantry made way for highly mobile machines. They also note how industry, alongside government and society, co-operated more closely than before to build a growing number of new technologies. Such developments saw aircraft, tanks, submarines and chemical weapons make their military debut in this global conflict. Armies also carried out logistics and supply operations on a greater scale and over wider distances than before. In addition, belligerent nations mobilised more manpower and over greater geographical distances than ever before. The number of mutilated men and war dead due to the destructive power of weapons and munitions was also greater than ever experienced. Apart from the physically maimed, the psychological impact of the horrors of the war gained new proportions and intensity. For these reasons, it is hardly surprising that the conflict between 1914 and 1918 became known as the Great War since every aspect of the war occurred on a ‘greater’ scale. At the same time, the war can be described as ‘great’ due to its beneficial contribution to humankind – as unlikely as that might seem. Due to the war, a greater number of lives could be saved by medical personnel than claimed by hostilities if weighed on a balance sheet over the long term. The most recent experience of the viral pandemic was evidence of this when governments, physicians and scientists dusted off the lessons learned from a century past. But, unlike them, their predecessors often did not have such advantages at the turn of the twentieth century. The contributions of these men, and occasionally women, gave birth to modern medicine, as Thomas Helling’s latest publication suggests. The outcome of the war was therefore not only destructive but also constructive since new knowledge, technology and incentives ushered in a new age of medicine from which future generations benefited and are still benefiting.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85322839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Faces from the front: Harold Gillies, the Queen’s Hospital, Sidcup and the origins of modern plastic surgery","authors":"Anri Delport","doi":"10.5787/50-3-1385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-3-1385","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84334855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Generally, military members are often required to work away from home, resulting in extended absences from their families. International studies have shown the effects of extended absences to be severe and associated with long-term social, emotional and behavioural challenges. Longer and more frequent absences negatively affect member morale and could result in military members terminating their employment sooner than planned to maintain their personal relationships and to ensure the wellbeing of their families. The aim of the study on which this article reports was to explore and describe the experiences of extended absences on members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) with specific reference to organisational support to aid both the member and his or her family to cope with the challenges experienced before, during and after absences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 senior officers of the SANDF during 2019 and 2020, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews focused on officers’ lived experiences of extended absences due to deployment or military training. The findings indicated that absence generally has an adverse influence on military members, not only due to the challenges they face during the absence, but mostly due to the effect it has on their families. Organisational support is not only required in terms of preparing the military member, but should be extended to include preparation prior to their absence, care for the military members and their families during the period of absence, as well as support with reintegration after the absence. The results of this study show that little support is provided by the organisation, especially during reintegration after deployment, and especially in the case of absences due to training. Organisational support during the preparation phase, during absence and with reintegration could mitigate the stress and negative experience associated with extended absences. With the aim of strengthening the capacity of the armed forces, we propose various initiatives that could assist military members and their families to cope with the additional strain of prolonged separation.
{"title":"Organisational support to overcome the challenges of extended absences of officers in the SANDF","authors":"Adele Harmse, S. O’Neil, Arien Strasheim","doi":"10.5787/50-2-1374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5787/50-2-1374","url":null,"abstract":"Generally, military members are often required to work away from home, resulting in extended absences from their families. International studies have shown the effects of extended absences to be severe and associated with long-term social, emotional and behavioural challenges. Longer and more frequent absences negatively affect member morale and could result in military members terminating their employment sooner than planned to maintain their personal relationships and to ensure the wellbeing of their families. The aim of the study on which this article reports was to explore and describe the experiences of extended absences on members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) with specific reference to organisational support to aid both the member and his or her family to cope with the challenges experienced before, during and after absences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 senior officers of the SANDF during 2019 and 2020, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews focused on officers’ lived experiences of extended absences due to deployment or military training. The findings indicated that absence generally has an adverse influence on military members, not only due to the challenges they face during the absence, but mostly due to the effect it has on their families. Organisational support is not only required in terms of preparing the military member, but should be extended to include preparation prior to their absence, care for the military members and their families during the period of absence, as well as support with reintegration after the absence. The results of this study show that little support is provided by the organisation, especially during reintegration after deployment, and especially in the case of absences due to training. Organisational support during the preparation phase, during absence and with reintegration could mitigate the stress and negative experience associated with extended absences. With the aim of strengthening the capacity of the armed forces, we propose various initiatives that could assist military members and their families to cope with the additional strain of prolonged separation.","PeriodicalId":53024,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Militaria","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84792188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}