Comparing apples with pears: the pre-1994 and post-1994 South African military cultures
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Date
2012
Authors
Esterhuyse, Abel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State
Abstract
This article aims2 at providing an exposition of the most important factors that have shaped and are
still shaping the institutional culture of the South African (SA) military. The view is broad and holistic
and places the timeframe from 1961 to the present under review. It makes sense to divide the article
into a discussion of the military cultures of the pre-1994 South African Defence Force (SADF) and the
post-1994 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) respectively. However, it is not necessarily a
comparison of the two timeframes. There are obvious links between the two eras and two organisations,
and a comparison is almost inevitable. This is, however, not done on purpose and not to reflect either
positively or negatively on any of the two periods or institutions. Instead, the article highlights the fact
that both the SADF and the SANDF are products of their time and the societies they have served or are
serving. The military cultures of both the SADF and SANDF were influenced by identity politics, the
political structures within which they had to function, the underlying political outlooks of the reigning
political elite and the prevailing views on military professionalism. From an organisational perspective,
the military ethos was shaped by factors such as the personnel system (conscript vis-à-vis all-volunteer),
the size of the military budget and the operational responsibility and missions of the military.
Description
Keywords
Culture, Military, Defence, Landpower, Frontierism, Regimental, Revolutionary, Professionalism
Citation
Esterhuyse, A. (2012). Comparing apples with pears: the pre-1994 and post-1994 South African military cultures. Journal for Contemporary History, 37(2), 224-241.