SOUTH AFRICA

Post Apartheid South Africa has been witness to many democratic changes to it's civil society and institutions of governemnt, notably the Defence Forces.

The new SANDF replaced the old SADF, and has recently been involved in military support operations in Democratic Republic of Congo and currently contributing forces to the African Union Mission in Darfur,Sudan. With this military cooperation the SANDF has embraced CIMIC and numerous courses have been undertaken in SA by the SANDF.

The SANDF is taking the lead in providing these courses to other African nations.

CIVIC ACTION and Communication Operations (COMOPS) were utlisied extensively by the old SADF in efforts to win the hearts and minds of local African populations groups and population groups outside of it's borders.

The SADF had extensive COMOPS and Civic Action campaigns all managed within the Defence Intelligence apparatus. Largely, strategic COMOPS was conducted by SADF Military Intelligence, whilst the tactical civic action and comops campaigns were run by the Army Intelligence Corps COMOPS Sections. COMOPS by the late nineties, had became so important that it was decided to look at divorcing itself from Intelligence under a seperate Corps identity.

With democractic elections and the release of political prisoners, notably Nelson Mandela, South Africa avoided a possible uglier civil war scenario