Landward projects
New security threats, defence oversight, and R2P in Southern Africa
Funded by the Open Society Foundation Africa
SIGLA partnered with the Dept of Sociology& Social Anthropology (Stellenbosch University) in a successful OSISA grant application on the above theme. The research schedule runs over 24 months (2023-2024) and centers on three main objectives:
- Mapping the SADC security landscape
- CIvil oversight of the military wrt to R2P roles and accountability
- Holding armed forces accountable within the prescripts of the law
- The Responsibility to Protect
Prof. Lindy Heinecken leads the Stellenbosch University team as the PI with Prof. Francois Vreÿ (SIGLA) serving as the Co-PI and Dr. Michelle Nel (Faculty of Military Science) together with Dr. Wilhelm Janse van Rensburg (RF SIGLA & Content Advisor on Defence, SA Parliament) completing the research team. Each member of the team covers one of the four themes seen to culiminate in a report presented to stakeholders early 2025.
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EPON on the Effectiveness of Future of Peace Operations
The Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON) aims to enhance the effectiveness of
international peace operations by enabling and supporting collaborative research.
The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), together with over 40 partners from across the globe, has established an international network to jointly research the effectiveness of peace operations. Each EPON case study focuses on a specific peace operation using a common methodology. In their own right, these case studies provide unique insights into specific operations. Jointly, however, the case studies also create a comprehensive resource on peace operations and their effectiveness.
Thomas Mandrup is participating in a larger research project looking at unconventional threats to multinational peace mission in cooperation with the Institute for Security Studies. The first case study is Somalia and the work will lead to a report and recommendations on how to improve future pre-mission training. As part of the focus on multilateral peace missions SIGLA and Prof. Mandrup in January 2019 organising the sixth consecutive roundtable in cooperation with the Danish Embassy in Pretoria – the next roundatable will focus on UNSC Resolution 1325 and South Africa´s position as a member on UNSC on gender and sexual exploitation and abuse in Peace missions. A policy paper on peace and sustainability will be published shortly as part of the same seminar series.
Prof. Mandrup recently co-authored a report on the Effectiveness of the UN Mission (EPON) in the DRC, based on a recent field-visit to Eastern DRC. The report is part of a larger study done under the leadership of the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (NUPI), and which will be running for the next four years. The EPON project is done in cooperation with the UN and the AU.
See Report on EPON Project here.
Photos: DRC 2018 during field work on the utitlity and impact of Peace Operations
