UWCScholar :: Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Joelien"

Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Joelien"

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Africa's contribution to the humanitarian approach of nuclear weapons disarmament : Pelindaba Treaty
(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Mhone, Peggy S; Pretorius, Joelien
This thesis attempts to assess the role Africa has played to further the humanitarian approach to nuclear weapons disarmament. Particular focus is on the Pelindaba Treaty and whether it has been able to strengthen the call for disarmament based on the humanitarian approach. The findings of this research are that the Pelindaba treaty did contribute indirectly to the strengthening of the humanitarian initiative of nuclear weapons disarmament because the Treaty serves as an important contribution towards the achievement of a world without nuclear weapons, which is the key objective of the humanitarian initiative of nuclear weapons disarmament. In addition, the Pelindaba Treaty has also contributed in strengthening the call for overall nuclear disarmament. This is the case as 53 states signed the treaty to rid the continent of nuclear weapons and any direct threats associated with those weapons. In so doing, it has contributed greatly to disarmament efforts. A nuclear weapons free zone across the continent is a powerful statement about the desire for a nuclear free world. It has provided African states with a foundation for engaging in the humanitarian initiative, as it led to some standardisation of statements/positions. Also, since the inception of the humanitarian approach to disarmament, African states have contributed greatly to the initiative. In terms of numbers, in the three conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons use that have taken place between 2013 and 2014 (in Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna), it was witnessed that the number of participating African states increased from 34 in the first meeting to 45 in the last meeting. This alone indicates the determination and commitment by these African states to the initiative. Conclusively, this research determined that the Pelindaba Treaty and efforts of African states in general have contributed towards strengthening the call for not only the humanitarian initiative to nuclear weapons disarmament but also to disarmament overall.
Africa–India nuclear cooperation: pragmatism, principle, post-colonialism and the Pelindaba Treaty
(Routledge, 2011) Pretorius, Joelien
The United States India nuclear agreement, announced in 2005, was a first step in the process to normalise India’s international nuclear relations despite the fact that India is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Africa is largely seen as a uranium supplier rather than nuclear power producer in the world nuclear order. The position that African states take towards Africa India nuclear cooperation, uranium supply to India in particular, is informed by two seemingly contrasting factors, namely economic and political pragmatism on the one hand, and non-proliferation imperatives and norms on the other. The African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, also referred to as the Pelindaba Treaty, prohibits uranium and nuclear-related exports to states without comprehensive safeguards of their nuclear facilities, but the case of India is still open for interpretation. Africa and India’s shared post-colonial consciousness, manifesting in their historical ties, membership of the Non-Aligned Movement and South South cooperation, is often regarded as another factor facilitating Africa India nuclear relations. A more critical view points to the different notions of post-coloniality in Africa and India, resulting in different approaches to nuclear non-proliferation that constrain their nuclear relations.
Complexity, depoliticisation, and African nuclear ordering agency: a meso-level exploration
(Routledge, 2024) Pretorius, Joelien; Vaughan, Tom
The regional nuclear ordering terrain in Africa is increasingly complex, with proliferating and deepening institutional relationships to the institutions of the global nuclear order. Applying a ‘complexity lens’ to this regional institutional apparatus may therefore seem like an intuitive way to understand its role in global nuclear ordering at large, and Africa’s place within it. However, one important concern when thinking about complex multinational regimes is depoliticisation. This has been examined in contexts of global development as well as nuclear order and we show this as a key feature of meso nuclear ordering in Africa. A complexity lens is useful to analyse the characteristics of the African regional institutional terrain. However, a complexity lens can perpetuate this depoliticisation if it does not acknowledge the political thrusts which underlie conceptions of ‘order’ and ‘disorder’.
Corporate citizenship and the millennium development goals: the case of South African Breweries in the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Oloumou, Yannick Rodrigue Dieu; Pretorius, Joelien
This study explores the relationship between companies and society with regards to companies’ social responsibilities. A number of concepts such as Corporate Citizenship (CC), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Social Investment (CSI), articulate the role of companies in society. While these concepts are often used interchangeably, the main argument advanced in this study is that the concept of CC has more political currency than other concepts as CC confers duties and rights to companies in communities where they operate. In developing countries, CC is concerned with the role played by companies in administering the socio-economic rights of people living in communities where they operate. The study seeks to provide an overview of corporations’ obligations towards the socio-economic rights of people through CC, proposing the use of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a way to find a normative framework for CC.
Cybersecurity provision: A typology of cybersecurity agents
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Maphumulo, Kwenzokuhle; Pretorius, Joelien
The means of communication available to humanity have evolved throughout the centuries and have become more efficient and effective. Through these changes and growing benefits, there have also been growing risks for communication and its infrastructure. With these increased risks, governments, businesses and increasingly civilians have sought to better their security in cyberspace.
(De)legitimizing rape as a weapon of war: patriarchy, narratives and the African Union
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Langeveldt, Veleska; Pretorius, Joelien
The African continent has over the past 40 years witnessed a continued scourge of violent conflict and human rights abuses. These conflicts have significantly undermined the social, political, and economic prosperity of African citizens. Additionally, women and children are particularly affected by these conflicts. Women and children are regarded as ‘the most vulnerable’ as they often become the targets of sexual abuse by the enemy. The African Union (AU) is primarily responsible for the resolution of conflicts on the continent. It professes to be committed to the prevention of human rights abuses and the protection of African women (and children) during armed conflicts. It has thus developed an array of mechanisms, protocols, and instruments to address the exploitation and sexual abuse of women during conflict periods. These instruments include: The Constitutive Act of the AU (2000); The Solemn Declaration of Gender Equality in Africa (2003); the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa- ACHPRWA (2004); and the Protocol relating to the Peace and Security Council. In this research project, I consider whether the narratives used in these AU documents sufficiently and explicitly address the use of rape as a strategic weapon during armed conflicts; or whether these narratives inadvertently contribute to a culture that perpetuates war-time rape. My analysis shows that these AU documents deal with war-time rape in very vague and euphemistic terms. Although gender discrimination, sexual violence, exploitation, discrimination, and harmful practices against women are condemned, the delegitimization of rape as a weapon of war is not specifically discussed. This allows for varying interpretations of AU protocols, including interpretations which may diminish the severity of strategic rape. This has lead me to propose that the narratives used in these AU protocols and related documents draw on patriarchy, perpetuate patriarchy, and thus inadvertently perpetuates a culture that perpetuates the use of rape as a weapon of war
"Dubula ibhunu" (shoot the boer): A psycho-political analysis of farm attacks in South Africa
(Scielo, 2014) Pretorius, Joelien
Post-colonial archetypes in the collective unconscious of South African society have actualised themselves powerfully in the discourses that have usurped the framing of what has come to be called “farm attacks” in South Africa. These attacks are often a grotesque enactment of a violent script that blurs crime and postapartheid comeuppance on the farm as mythical representation of the post-apartheid state. Framing these attacks as a Boer Genocide or justifying them as a form of colonial struggle / restitution remains rooted in totalising Afrikaner and black nationalisms respectively that not only renders the potential for addressing / redressing this violence barren, but actually inform it. Post-colonial psychology offers a lens to analyse the psychopolitical underpinnings of this violence and its framing.
Eroding the middle ground: the shift in foreign policy underpinning South African nuclear diplomacy
(Routledge, 2009) Leith, Rian; Pretorius, Joelien
In international relations states labelled as ‘middle powers’ are often responsible for crafting a middle way to bridge conflicting international interests. They typically favour multilateralism and cooperative international behaviour. Middle power diplomacy has played a crucial role in the establishment and maintenance of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. South Africa has played the role of a middle power in nuclear diplomacy since 1994, drawing on its moral position after giving up its nuclear weapons. This role has especially involved joining the efforts of middle powers in the North, such as Norway and Canada, to indefinitely extend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, South Africa’s foreign policy has shown a gradual shift away from a middle power orientation not least due to an increasing non-aligned position that calls for deep reforms to the perceived unfair world order tilted in the favour of the developed North. This shift is also visible in South African nuclear diplomacy and is eroding the middle ground that has so far sustained the nonproliferation regime. The paper argues that South Africa’s middle power diplomacy has allowed it to punch above its weight in the nuclear realm, but its pursuit of international reforms has resulted in the drawing of a fault line between developed and developing countries. It is in the interest of nuclear non-proliferation to regain the middle ground by forming broad coalitions amongst all actors interested in nuclear disarmament.
Ethics and international security in the information age
(Taylor & Francis, 2003) Pretorius, Joelien
According to Moore’s Law, every 18 months technology is developed reducing electronic systems to half their previous size.1 The resultant impact upon the field of information and communication has been revolutionary and can be framed in terms of three orders of manifestation. The first order manifestation of the information revolution is technological and refers to the unprecedently cheap, fast and user-friendly information devices that have been developed in the past two to three decades. Digitization, miniaturization and conversion of different media into each other have been the impetus for a worldwide communications infrastructure – the apex of which is the Internet. The first order (or technological) implications of the information revolution have, in the second order, impacted on social, political and economic activities allowing for the almost instant mobility of capital, the proliferation of multinational corporations, the global reach of news media coverage, and cross-border mobilization of individuals and interest groups. The behavioral implications of the information revolution, in the third order, raise questions of a structural nature about the validity of the nation-state, the expression of identity and the organization of the international community. This article aims to tease out the ethical implications of the technological, behavioral and structural dimensions of the information revolution and in turn international security in two ways. First, the impact of information technology (IT) on contemporary ethical issues in the pursuit of international security, for example weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and redistributive justice and human rights, are explored. Second, IT also introduces a whole new set of ethical questions to international security issues. These questions are most often related to the causes and conduct of war, personal privacy in opposition to state security, and information inequality.
Implementing the New Parnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD): a study of the Economic and Corporate Governance Initiative (ECGI)
(University of the Western Cape, 2009) Carolissen, Monita; Pretorius, Joelien; Dept. of Political Studies; Faculty of Arts
In this mini-thesis, I explore the New Partnership for Africa's Development's (NEPAD) Economic and Corporate Governance Initiative (ECGI). I argue that although this initiative is not the only means to, nor the end of determining whether the NEPAD is being implemented, the ECGI can be used as a good indicator of whether one important dimension of the NEPAD is implemented. I establish whether, through an analysis of the ECGI, that dimension of the NEPAD is being implemented by looking at the countries where the ECGI was implemented. I maintain the position that through the NEPAD, good governance in African countries is promoted and that is why the authors of the NEPAD document created the ECGI.
Non-alignment in the current world order. The impact of the rise of China
(Institute for Strategic Studies at the University of Pretoria, 2008) Pretorius, Joelien
The relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement has been in question since the end of Cold War bipolarity. In the post-Cold War order, whether interpreted as cosmopolitan, unipolar, multipolar or globalised in nature, there are still challenges to the main purpose of the Non-Aligned Movement, which can be defined as the pursuit of self-determination and development for so-called Third World states. The rise of China is impacting on the current world order, possibly returning it to a kind of bipolarity, which the Non-Aligned Movement members can exploit. In addition, the 'Beijing Consensus' may provide new terms on which developing countries can be integrated into the global economy in a way that would accommodate and encourage their development.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty : a comparison of realist, liberal and constructivist views
(University of the Western Cape, 2012) Petersen, Bradley Craig; Pretorius, Joelien
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was negotiated to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, resulting from the dangers associated with the use of these weapons well visible during 1945, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a nuclear arms race as seen during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During NPT Review Conferences, held every five years, the strength and integrity of this treaty is tested. Evident in NPT review conferences is the disagreement between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states over the role and importance placed on nuclear weapons and the slow pace of nuclear disarmament. The NPT has been in force for over 40 years; however the threat of nuclear weapons still exists. It then becomes necessary to understand what role the NPT plays in the international system, which differs depending on the theoretical lens used to interpret the NPT. A realist perspective of the NPT reveals that this treaty is an instrument used by dominant states to safeguard and legitimise their hold over nuclear weapons, while denying other states access to these weapons, instead protecting their allies through extended nuclear deterrence. A liberal perspective of the NPT highlights the moral influence of this treaty as an instrument for the benefit of the greater good, to shield humanity from the dangers of a nuclear explosion by delegitimizing nuclear weapons, key to shaping the perceptions of the decision makers of states regarding state security and nuclear weapons particularly. A constructivist interpretation of the NPT argues that this treaty is a social construction by states to impose a measure of order in their relations. At particular times in history, the NPT moves between a realist and liberal interpretation based on critical events that inform its direction. Social agents (decision makers of the state) through their thinking and ideas construct and give meaning to “reality” which is constantly negotiated. With that in mind, no interpretation of the NPT is fixed and for that reason, a constructivist conclusion seems ultimately applicable, namely that the NPT is what states make of it.
Nuclear Politics of Denial: South Africa and the Additional Protocol
(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013) Pretorius, Joelien
South Africa was one of the first states to conclude an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2002, allowing the IAEA greater right of access to safeguard nuclear activities and material. In light of this, some observers in the arms control community find it odd that South Africa’s representatives at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) would be the main objectors to making the conclusion of an Additional Protocol a precondition for states wishing to import uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology (classified as sensitive nuclear technology and material). The South African objection should be viewed as only the most recent in a series of objections to measures that may seem obviously in line with nuclear non-proliferation. This emerging pattern in South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy and, more specifically, the objection to the Additional Protocol condition are related to its membership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and can be investigated through the lens of a politics of denial. Denial is the act of saying “no”, but it is also in psychological parlance the unconscious thought process manifesting a refusal to acknowledge the existence of certain unpleasant aspects of external reality. It will be argued that South Africa’s opposition to the Additional Protocol condition can be explained in the context of two instances of denial: (i) a perceived denial by the nuclear haves of what the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty codifies as an inalienable right to peaceful nuclear technology – something that South Africa is cautious to be complicit in; and (ii) the nuclear weapon states’ denial (the psychological meaning) of the unpleasant reality of a hypocritical nuclear order – something that South Africa wants to expose or at least something with which to engage to limit the effects for itself and other NAM members. The politics of denial does not yield to a pragmatist/utopian dichotomy in the nuclear realm, but instead reveals the dialectic nature of realism and idealism in nuclear politics, especially as reflected in South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy.
Political culture and nuclear proliferation: Juche and North Korea’s foreign and nuclear policy
(University of the Western Cape, 2019) Hendricks, Craig Darren; Pretorius, Joelien
North Korea has against the numerous warnings of the international community, protocols and sanctions tested nuclear and missile devices. The purpose of this study is to explain how the political ideology of Juche informs North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Using a qualitative analysis, this study analyzed the origin of Juche and its impact on North Korea’s foreign and nuclear policies through the years. The social values underlying Juche were found to be the foundation of North Korea’s nuclear and missile ambitions. Juche itself has evolved as a framework that informs North Korea’s international relations and the study traces this evolution through the different Kim presidencies.
The political economy of aid-oriented foreign policy change: elite perspectives on mercantilism in Korea and Ghana
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Suweon, Kim; Pretorius, Joelien
The thesis examines how elite perspectives on foreign aid affect the subsequent path of aid dependence. The focus is on aid-seeking foreign policy change. Two foreign policy change cases are examined for the study, which took place in Korea under Park Chung-hee and in Ghana under Rawlings through a lens of comparative historical analysis. The thesis aims to make two original contributions to knowledge. First, it explains recipient foreign policy using two different forms of mercantilism, and second, it reveals the dependent path created by the mercantilist oriented elite. Mercantilism in the thesis is used as dual-frameworked concept. First, it is a lens to see state behaviour. Despite the fact that mercantilism has been mainly used to explain a donor‘s behaviour, it can elucidate that of an aid-recipient state when the aid-seeking country is in dire need of the foreign aid for the survival of the state. The thesis applies mercantilism to explain aid-receiving countries‘behaviour. Second, more importantly, mercantilism also explains elite perspectives. The elite in aid receiving countries search for foreign aid not only for the wealth and power of their state, but also for the prosperity and survival of themselves. Mercantilism is used as an ostensible principle in practicing the private search for advantages of the elite. The thesis uses the dual-mercantilism idea to examine aid-seeking foreign policy in Korea and Ghana. In Korea, the elite saw the key to their survival in industrialising the nation, and their search for foreign aid took place based on that raison d’être. In Ghana, on the other hand, the elite found the way to their survival and prosperity in acquiring more foreign aid and the aid per se became the ultimate goal. The thesis finds industrial mercantilism a useful framework to understand the elite perspective in Korea
Redefining defence in the post-apartheid security imaginary: The politics of meaning-fixing
(University of the Free State, 2008) Pretorius, Joelien
This article traces the politics of meaning-fixing with respect to the role of the defence force as apartheid declined from the mid-1980s, as it was negotiated from a current to a past organising principle of the “security imaginary” in the period 1990 to 1994 and as the post-apartheid period commenced after the 1994 elections.
Revolution in military affairs, missile defence and weapons in space: The US strategic triad
(Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University, 2005) Pretorius, Joelien
American plans for Missile Defence (MD) and the weaponisation of space should be analysed in the larger framework of the contemporary Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA).1 Soviet military analysts have written about this revolution from as early as the 1970s, but it was the application of information age technology (IT) in the 1991 Gulf War that captured the imagination of military planners and policy makers, especially in the US. The US is actively pursuing an RMA, conceptualised as integrating new IT into weapons systems and integrated command, control, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and, in turn, doctrinal, operational and organisational change in the military to take advantage of information dominance on the battlefield. This relates to MD and the weaponisation of space in two ways. Firstly, very few countries have the financial and technological capability to modernise their defence forces along the lines of a US-defined RMA, which means that they may resort to so-called asymmetric means to exploit the vulnerabilities or weaknesses of a strong, conventional power. Ballistic missiles (in association with chemical, biological or nuclear payloads) are one of the asymmetrical threats most commonly cited in speeches and military documents of the US and used as justification of MD. Secondly, the RMA increases the US military’s reliance on space-based military assets for C4ISR. Placing weapons in space to protect these assets is seen as a logical step to ensure a key aspect of US dominance on the battlefield. This paper explores the extent to which the strategic framework of the RMA has a bearing on US MD and space weaponisation arguments.
The role of diplomatic protocol in constructing a foreign policy identity: The case study of South Africa
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Apollis, Tricia; Pretorius, Joelien
Diplomatic protocol may come across as entailing red carpets, table settings and dress codes when diplomats come together. However, there is much more to it. This research study explores the role of diplomatic protocol in constructing a foreign policy identity in the case study of South Africa. Protocol, along with the actions and politics of a country, shapes the perception that foreign powers have of a state, in turn impacting on their relations politically, economically and culturally. The study will be focused on diplomatic protocol during the administrations of three South African presidents since 1994: Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
The role of Highly Enriched Uranium in South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Krelekrele, Thembela; Pretorius, Joelien
Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is one of the most dangerous materials in the world, because it is a key ingredient in making a nuclear bomb. If a terrorist organisation can get HEU, it would be close to making a nuclear bomb. After South Africa disarmed its nuclear weapons, it kept HEU that was extracted from the nuclear bombs. The US tried to persuade South Africa to blend down its HEU into low enriched uranium (LEU) or give it up for safekeeping. However, South Africa refused to give it up. After a breach at Pelindaba, a national key point facility where South Africa stores its HEU, the US intensified its efforts to pressure South Africa to give its HEU up. It even promised incentives to South Africa should they agree to give it up, but South Africa refused. The US used the nuclear terrorism narrative to justify its initiative to eliminate vulnerable materials in the world. However, South Africa is yet to be swayed. This is odd since South Africa's refusal can negatively affect its credentials as a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament champion and its image as a norm entrepreneur. The objective of the study was to understand the role played by HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. It was to explore HEU as a factor in the state's nuclear diplomacy and to understand the power of having HEU in nuclear negotiations, as well as what SA intends to do with its HEU. The study is framed theoretically by drawing on foreign policy theory, namely middle-power theory, and revisionism. It juxtaposed middle power, reformist, and revisionist positions with status quo foreign policy to analyse the role of HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. As a middle power with a moral high ground, South Africa hoped that it can affect change in the nuclear regime. However, when this did not occur its foreign policy shifted to a revisionist character that is discontent with the status quo in the nuclear regime. SA is dissatisfied with the current nuclear order and wants it revised towards liberal values such as equality and nondiscrimination. It views the current nuclear order as nuclear apartheid.
The role of Highly Enriched Uranium in South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Krelekrele, Thembela; Pretorius, Joelien
Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is one of the most dangerous materials in the world, because it is a key ingredient in making a nuclear bomb. If a terrorist organisation can get HEU, it would be close to making a nuclear bomb. After South Africa disarmed its nuclear weapons, it kept HEU that was extracted from the nuclear bombs. The US tried to persuade South Africa to blend down its HEU into low enriched uranium (LEU) or give it up for safekeeping. However, South Africa refused to give it up. After a breach at Pelindaba, a national key point facility where South Africa stores its HEU, the US intensified its efforts to pressure South Africa to give its HEU up. It even promised incentives to South Africa should they agree to give it up, but South Africa refused. The US used the nuclear terrorism narrative to justify its initiative to eliminate vulnerable materials in the world. However, South Africa is yet to be swayed. This is odd since South Africa's refusal can negatively affect its credentials as a nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament champion and its image as a norm entrepreneur. The objective of the study was to understand the role played by HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. It was to explore HEU as a factor in the state's nuclear diplomacy and to understand the power of having HEU in nuclear negotiations, as well as what SA intends to do with its HEU. The study is framed theoretically by drawing on foreign policy theory, namely middle-power theory, and revisionism. It juxtaposed middle power, reformist, and revisionist positions with status quo foreign policy to analyse the role of HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. As a middle power with a moral high ground, South Africa hoped that it can affect change in the nuclear regime. However, when this did not occur its foreign policy shifted to a revisionist character that is discontent with the status quo in the nuclear regime. SA is dissatisfied with the current nuclear order and wants it revised towards liberal values such as equality and non-discrimination. It views the current nuclear order as nuclear apartheid. Therefore, South Africa uses HEU as leverage against nuclear weapon states in nuclear diplomacy. It is using HEU as an act of defiance against nuclear weapon states (such as the US) that are yet to disarm their nuclear weapons.

Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Joelien"

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