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This book addresses some of the most controversial aspects of our transition from apartheid to a non-racial and non-sexist democracy. The creation of a representative and legitimate defence force is probably the most difficult aspect of our commitment to create a common society and to build institutions which unite rather than divide us. The role of the new defence force is to protect and consolidate democracy: this implies a total break from the past when the South African Defence Force helped to make South Africa a ‘terrorist state’ reliant on fear to maintain its authority. In the past vast resources were devoted to the SADF to support white minority rule. Today military expenditure must be appropriate to our central task: to address the real threats to our security – poverty and unemployment. In the past military issues were also shrouded in secrecy, whereas today we are committed to transparency.

In this context there is an urgent need for extensive public debate on defence and security issues. We need to empower civil society through access to information and alternative perspectives so that debate is not dominated by ‘insider’ security experts, and to enable a broader range of our people to contribute and make their voices heard. Both the consultation around the 1996 Defence White Paper and the Defence Review process have allowed for some participation from civil society, but that participation must be widened and deepened. In particular, efforts must be made to ensure that women participate because they suffer the most from poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. As a contribution to the public debate on defence and security issues, the publication of this book is to be welcomed.

Thenjiwe Mtintso
Chair, Commission on Gender Equality
Pretoria

Document(s) 1 of 16