Guy Lamb

Stellenbosch University | SUN · Department of Political Science

This handbook, which was developed for SaferSpaces by the Safety and Violence Initiative (at the University of Cape Town), was undertaken with the objective of identifying evidence, lessons and challenges that have relevance for safety and security policy realisation in South Africa.

Since 1994 the South African Police Service (SAPS) has undertaken various efforts to build legitimacy in South Africa. Extensive community policing resources have been made available, and a hybrid community-oriented programme (sector policing) has been pursued. Nevertheless, public opinion data has shown that there are low levels of public trust in...

The public health approach to study of interpersonal violence has been revolutionary, not only in terms of facilitating greater multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, but also through introducing more systematic and focused ways to examine, analyse and test violence prevention interventions. Epidemiological purists of the public health approa...

Using social disorganisation theory as a framework for analysis, this article analyses the relationship between social cohesion and violence in post-apartheid South Africa. On the basis of published research, it considers the association between social cohesion and violence in the context of the family home and community, with a focus on violence a...

This synthesis report is based on a qualitative study conducted by the Safety and Violence Initiative (SaVI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on behalf of ALPS Resilience. It is part of a broader project: the ‘People to People Dialogues: Fostering social cohesion in South Africa through conversation’ project (P2P). The core SaVI team conducte...

An analysis of xenophobic violence in the spaza shop sector in 4 provinces in South Africa

In recent years, there has been a revival in scholarly interest in police militarisation. However, the debates about the impact of this phenomenon on society and governance have been mostly normative, and there have been very few case studies from other countries published to date. Consequently, this article seeks to contribute to knowledge on poli...

This study sought to determine whether a relationship exists between murder and the policing of illegal firearms by the South African Police Service (SAPS), particularly in high crime areas. The study used a case series approach that examined and retrospectively compared trends in the number of annual cases of murder and illegal possession of firea...

An analysis of the transformation of the South African military between 1994 and 2004.

This paper explores and analyses the various dimensions of the phenomenon of demilitarisation, and more specifically, comments on its nature and usage. The current literature on demilitarisation is surveyed and the concept unpacked by considering its origins and influences. It is argued that demilitarisation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, relat...

An assessment of the transformation and rationalisation of the SANDF between 1994 and 2004

Assessment of the reintegration of ex-combatants in Zimbabwe

This study sought to determine whether a relationship exists between murder and the policing of illegal firearms by the South African Police Service (SAPS), particularly in high crime areas. The study used a case series approach that examined and retrospectively compared trends in the number of annual cases of murder and illegal possession of firea...

This article provides an analysis of the illicit arms trade in Africa prior to 2006.

The chapter provides an assessment of arms import controls

A case study analysis of South Africa is used to provide some insights into the relationships between illicit firearm networks and the police. It shows that following the reform of firearm controls and the seizure of large quantities of illegal firearms by the police, illicit networks appear to have adapted their strategies and tactics in relation...

This article analyses the nature of coordination between the various stakeholders during the design and implementation of a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process. It makes detailed reference to the contemporary DDR programme in South Sudan as this African country is a relevant example of significant international and local eff...

Over the past two centuries, the police have perpetrated massacres in response to protest action in numerous countries. Available scholarly literature has typically focused on the circumstances that contributed to such mass killings, but rarely has there been consideration of the impact that such massacres subsequently may have had on the police or...

Using social disorganisation theory as a framework for analysis, this article analyses the relationship between social cohesion and violence in post-apartheid South Africa. On the basis of published research it considers the association between social cohesion and violence in the context of the family home and community, with a focus on violence ag...

Khayelitsha Site C is part of the broader Khayelitsha, a township near Cape Town which was established in the early 1980s. The population composition of the area is mostly dominated by isiXhosa-speaking people and as such it is nearly ethnically and linguistically homogeneous. This linguistic and cultural homogeneity of residents, while enabling ea...

The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime jointly released the first Global Status Report on Violence Prevention on 10 December 2014. This editorial reviews the Report’s perspective on violence prevention in South Africa (SA) and its implications for the SA health...

In the context of high levels of firearm violence in South Africa this article assesses the attempts by the police to leverage effectual control over the proliferation and misuse of firearms. A key strategy has been that of militarised high density policing operations in the context of a 'war on crime' ideology. Through roadblocks and cordon-and-se...

Results A total of 1804 patients were recorded to have been admitted and treated for firearm injuries. Most patients among the survivors were shot in the lower limbs and pelvis 726 (43%) followed by upper limbs 342 (20%), then chest and abdomen 276 (16%) and 243 (14%), respectively. Sixty eight per cent of the patients were managed under general an...

This report presents and analyses the findings of a research project on the peacebuilding civil society sector in South Africa. This project had the following objectives: to determine the scope and range of the peacebuilding civil society sector in South Africa; to ascertain the effectiveness of the organisations in this sector with respect to cont...

Reviewing how the legacy of Namibia's armed conflict has influenced its path of post-conflict reconstruction, the article reflects on the limitations and failures of efforts geared toward the fostering of sustainable peace and the consolidation of democracy. It begins with a short history of the Namibian conflict, then details the immediate post- i...

Explores the concepts of negative and positive peace in the context of South Africa

This double edition of Track Two highlights the complexity and critical nature of demobilisation and reintegration of former soldiers into civilian life in South Africa. It stresses the different categories of former soldiers, some of whom have been more successful in terms of integrating into civilian life for various reasons.

An assessment of the history of Special Forces in South Africa and the reintegration of former Special Forces Operators into civilian life.

An analysis of the the reintegration of former combatants into civilian life in South Africa with a focus on members of MK and APLA.

Understanding the factors that determine the military burdens in developing economies is an important area of research. Previous research has suggested that to understand the dynamics of the relationship between military burden and economic and strategic factors requires detailed case studies. This article provides an analysis of the South African...

This article provides an analysis of demilitarization from a southern African perspective. It first explores the origins and influences of demilitarization; it surveys the current literature on demilitarization in southern Africa; and finally it assesses whether or not southern Africa has undergone, or is undergoing, a process of demilitarization....

This paper provides a historical analysis of civil supremacy of the military in Namibia.

Word processed copy. Thesis (M.Soc.Sci. (International & Comparative Politics))--University of Cape Town, 1998. Includes bibliographical references.