by Joan Swart | Sep 12, 2026 | South Africa, Africa and Global Power, Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902), KULTURELE IDENTITEIT/CULTURAL IDENTITY, STRATEGIC STUDIES, The World Between the Lines
Abstract: Written in 1899 as America crossed into overseas empire, Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden offers a revealing view of power, responsibility and the assumptions of imperialism. More than a century later, its deepest question remains: does the power to...
by Joan Swart | Sep 5, 2026 | Defence Policy and Strategy, Foreign Affairs (RSA), National Security - Nasionale Veiligheid, South Africa, STRATEGIC STUDIES
Abstract: As the global order becomes increasingly multipolar, South Africa faces a strategic dilemma: it possesses significant geopolitical advantages but lacks a settled conception of its national interest. This article explores whether strategic culture,...
by Joan Swart | Aug 23, 2026 | Defence Policy and Strategy, National Security - Nasionale Veiligheid, South Africa, STRATEGIC STUDIES
Abstract: Foreign policy is often presented as a calculation of national interest, separate from emotion and morality. Yet national interest itself is shaped by history, values and strategic culture, raising a difficult question: when principle, international law and...
by Joan Swart | Aug 17, 2026 | Defence Policy and Strategy, National Security - Nasionale Veiligheid, South Africa, STRATEGIC STUDIES
Abstract: South Africa inherited distinct military and political traditions that were never fully synthesised into a coherent post-1994 strategic culture. Rebuilding effective military strategy and doctrine therefore requires neither restoration nor rejection, but a...
by Joan Swart | Aug 8, 2026 | Defence Policy and Strategy, National Security - Nasionale Veiligheid, South Africa, STRATEGIC STUDIES
Abstract: Recurring disruptions in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz have restored the strategic importance of the Cape Sea Route. Yet South Africa continues to treat its maritime position primarily as a transport issue rather than a strategic national asset. This...
