This article deals with the long-term outcomes of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in
Angola (1987–1988) and the effect of the outcomes on the current strategic landscape in
Southern Africa. The crux of the article is to learn about the value of long-term
foresight for strategising in an international context. After a short discussion of the
research methodology, the desired long-term outcomes, as perceived by the major roleplayers
before the battle, will be described and explained. For the purpose of
elucidation, a description is included of the events preceding the battle and the course of
the battle itself. Finally, the long-term outcomes within the context of the current
strategic landscape in Southern Africa will be described and explained. The article
concludes with recommendations on the value of long-term strategic foresight and the
importance to maintain strategic instruments, including military force, to ensure that the
foreseen outcomes become reality

The paper is presented against a background of many wicked problems that confront us in the world today such as violent crime, conflict that emanates from political power seeking, contests for scarce resources, the increasing reaction all over the world to the deterioration of socio-economic conditions and the devastation caused by natural disasters. This article will argue that the challenge of violent conflict requires an innovative approach to research and problem solving and proposes a research methodology that follows a transdisciplinary approach. The argument is informed by field research during 2006 on the management of knowledge in the Great Lakes region of Africa, including research on how knowledge on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is managed. The paper will make recommendations on how transdisciplinary research is required to determine the causes of violent conflict in an African context and how practitioners and academics should engage in transdisciplinarity. It was found that transdisciplinary research is required to gain better insight into the causes of violent conflict in an African context. It requires from the researcher to recognise the many levels of reality that has to be integrated towards a synthesis to reveal new insights into the causes of violent conflict, including recognising the existence of a normative-spiritual realm that informs the epistemology of Africa. It furthermore requires a methodology that allows us to break out of the stifling constraints of systems thinking and linear processes into the inner space at the juncture where disciplines meet (the diversity of African communities).

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract