A kingdom with many internal facets: power, politics and instability in a post-colonial state. Ramifications for public stability

Keywords: Lesotho, Security Forces, Political instability, Military Coup, SADC

Abstract

Lesotho offers an exciting case study for the analysis of the interface between power, politics and instability. Since gaining its independence from Britain in 1966, Lesotho has over the last five decades been plagued by persistent political instability that has paved way for the breakdown of the rule of law, gross human rights violations, underdevelopment and insecurity where at times the security sector like the Lesotho Defence Force has taken over several key institutions in the country. Political instability in the tiny kingdom has been a daunting agenda for all concerned actors, including political parties, civil society, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other continental stakeholders. While the security sector of any state is of importance, it becomes problematic if it becomes involved in a state’s political affairs. The repercussions of such trajectories of governance have been quite profound for democratic stability and security. Using a qualitative methodology, supplemented by secondary data, this article seeks to unearth Lesotho’s political instability, the role of its security forces and continental actors in its continuous internal governance crisis post the colonial era. The article rightfully shows that The power, possessed by both the military and police, has made them have a robust role in state affairs rather than institutions, mandated to safeguard Lesotho’s citizens. The legitimacy of the security sector underpins restructuring, transparent and accessible security sectors enhance healthy civil-military relations. Restructuring a state’s security and political dynamic reforms is not an easy task, it requires a state managerial and dedication prowess and assistance from different role players and therefore an ample amount of time and effort is invested in the coordination of this process.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Daniel N. Mlambo, Tshwane University of Technology

Department of Public Management

References

Motsamai, D. (2018). Evaluating the Peacekeeping Effectiveness of SADC. University of the Witwatersrand, 259.

Phungula, N. (2020). An assessment of the SADC Conflict Transformation Capacity in Lesotho 1998–2018: Towards a Conflict transformation Model. University of Kwazulu-Natal. Available at: https://ukzn-dspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/18701

de Wet, E. (2020). Military Assistance on Request and the Use of Force. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198784401.001.0001

Malephane, L. (2015). Contesting and turning over Power: Implications for Consolidation of Democracy in Lesotho. Available at: https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Policy%20paper/ab_r6_policypaperno17.pdf Last accessed: 30.06.2021

Hendricks., T., Musavengana, T. (2017). The Security Sector in Southern Africa. Pretoria. Pretoria: Institute of Security Studies.

Brynard, D. J., Hanekom, S. X., Brynard, P. A. (2015). Introduction to Research. Hatfield: Van Schaik Publishers.

Handbook on Police Accountability, oversight and Integrity (2011). United Nations. Available at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/Handbook_on_police_Accountability_Oversight_and_Integrity.pdf Last accessed: 19.10.2021

OECD (2007). The OECD DAC Handbook on Security System Reform (SSR): Supporting Security and Justice. Available at: https://issat.dcaf.ch/download/478/3015/OECD%20DAC%20Handbook%20on%20SSR.pdf Last accessed: 07.06.2021

Benyera, E. (2017). Towards an Explanation of the Recurrence of Military Coups in Lesotho. Available at: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/ASPJ_French/journals_E/Volume-08_Issue-3/benyera_e.pdf Last accessed: 01.03.2021

Shoemaker, P. J., Tankard, Jr., J. W., Lasorsa, D. L. (2004). How to Build Social Science Theories. London: Thousand Oaks. doi: http://doi.org/10.4135/9781412990110

Williams, C. (2019). Lesotho in 2019: Looking Back to Find a Way Forward. Johannesburg: South African Institute of Internal Affairs.

Maundeni, Z. (2010). Political Culture as a Source of Political Instability. The Case of Lesotho. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 4 (4), 128–139.

Sefa-Nyarko, C. (2020). Ethnicity in Electoral Politics in Ghana: Colonial Legacies and the Constitution as Determinants. Critical Sociology, 47 (2), 299–315. doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/0896920520943263

Thomas, R. M. (2003). Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Theses and Dissertations. Thousand Oaks. doi: http://doi.org/10.4135/9781412983525

Molomo, M. G. (1999). External Military Intervention in Lesotho’s recent Political Crisis. External Military Intervention, 133–162. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29179669.pdf Last accessed: 05.07.2021

Motseki, M. M., Maluleke, W., Dlamini, S. (2020). Military role in democratic transition and succession: Lessons from the Kingdom of Lesothos. Cogent Social Sciences, 6 (1). doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2020.1847845

Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (2017). The Lesotho we Want: Dialogue and Reforms for National Transformation. Vision, Overview and Roadmap. Available at: https://www.gov.ls/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Lesotho-Reforms-Framework-and-Road-Map-Final-Draft-1-30-November-2017.pdf Last accessed: 30.07.2021

Maps of the World (2021). Political Map of Lesotho. https://www.mapsofworld.com/lesotho/lesotho-political-map.html Last accessed: 16.10.2021

Pateman, R. (1992). Intelligence Agencies in Africa: a Preliminary Assessment. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 30 (4), 569–585. doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/s0022278x00011058

Schreier, F.; Born, H., Caparini, M. (Eds.) (2013). The Need for Efficient and Legitimate Intelligence. Democratic Control of Intelligence Services: Containing Rogue Elephants. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing.

Caparini, M.; Born, H., Caparini, M. (Eds.) (2016). Controlling and Overseeing Intelligence Services in the Democratic States. Democratic Control of Intelligence Services: Containing Rogue Elephants. Hampshire. Ashgate Publishing.

Pherudi, M. (2018). The Assassination of Military Commanders in Lesotho: Triggers and Reactions. Journal of Contemporary History, 43 (2), 117–133. doi: http://doi.org/10.18820/24150509/jch43.v2.7

Ball, S. (2020). Secret History: Writing the Rise of Britain’s Intelligence Services. Montreal: McGill – Queens University Press. doi: http://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv10kmf7k

Richelson, J. T. (2018). The US Intelligence Community. New York: Routledge.

Hutton, L. (2009). Intelligence and Accountability in Africa. Available at: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/112461/JUL09INTELLIGENCEACCOUNT.pdf Last accessed: 22.10.2021

Lijembe, M. (2015). Intelligence Services and Democratization in Africa. University of Nairobi, 126.

Matlosa, K. (2020). Pondering the culture of violence in Lesotho: a case for demilitarisation. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 38 (3), 381–398. doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2020.1749246

Rosenberg, S., Weisfelder, B. F. (2013). Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Maryland: Scarecrow Press.

Matlosa, K. (2005). From a destabilising factor to a de-politicised and professional force: The military in Lesotho. Evolutions & Revolutions: A Contemporary History of Militaries in Southern Africa. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 85–110.

Ministry of Defence and National Security (2018). Government of Lesotho. Available at: https://www.gov.ls/ministry-of-defence-and-national-security/ Last accessed: 04.05.2021

Cheeseman, N., Fisher, J. (2019). Authoritarian Africa: Repression, Resistance and the Power of Ideas. New York: Oxford University Press, 176.

Motsamai, D. (2015). Elections in a time of instability: Challenges for Lesotho Beyond the 2015 Poll. Available at: https://issafrica.org/research/southern-africa-report/elections-in-a-time-of-instability-challenges-for-lesotho-beyond-the-2015-poll Last accessed: 22.10.2021

Leshoele, M. (2021). The Political History of Military – Induced Conflict and Instability in Lesotho and its Economic and Development Implications. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, 1–18. http://doi.org/10.1080/18186874.2021.1962726

Kahuni, P. (2017). The Security Sector Reform Debate in Post-Independent Africa South of the Sahara: A Critical Ethical Investigation Based on the Concept of Sovereignty and Anarchy. University of KwaZulu-Natal, 310.

Monyake, M (2020). Assurance Dilemmas of the Endangered Institutional Reforms Process in Lesotho. Canadian Journal of African Studies. doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/00083968.2020.1834418

Motsamai, D. (2014). The SADC emergency meeting on Lesotho has been concluded, but the big challenge is how the resolutions will be implemented in Maseru. Available at: https://issafrica.org/iss-today/challenges-ahead-for-sadcs-mediation-in-lesotho Last accessed: 29.10.2021

Peace and Security Report: Kingdom of Lesotho (2019). Institute for Peace and Security Studies. Available at: https://media.africaportal.org/documents/peace_and_security_report_vol_1_2019.pdf Last accessed: 21.10.2021.

Neuendorf, K. A. (2002). The Content Analysis Handbook. The United States of America, Sage Publications.

Philander, D. (2020). Security Reforms in Lesotho: Observation from a 3-day Dialogue Series. Available at: https://www.africaportal.org/publications/security-sector-reform-in-lesotho-observations-from-a-three-day-dialogue-series/ Last accessed: 06.08.2021

Mlambo, D. N., Adetiba, T. C. (2020). Post-1994 South Africa’s Peacekeeping and Military intervention in Southern Africa: Reference from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho. Journal of Public Affairs, 20 (1), e1984. doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1984

Letsie, T. W. (2018). The case for demilitarising Lesotho. African Security Review, 27 (3-4), 291–307. doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2019.1614083

Mlambo, D. N. (2020). Reframing the Notion of Regional integration in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Role for Civil Society. Ebangi, 17 (3), 144–153.

Moremoholo, E. (2005). The Role of the Military in the Political Conflict in Lesotho: With Special Reference to the 1998 failed coup d’etat. University of KwaZulu-Natal, 142.

Lumumba-Kasongo, T. (2017). Contemporary theories of conflict and their social and political implications. Peace, Security and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Oxford: African Book Collective, 29–48. doi: http://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvgc60jf.7

Bartos, O. J., Wehr, P. (2002). Using Conflict Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press. doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511613692

Monyane, O. (2009). The Kingdom of Lesotho: An Assessment of Problems in Democratic Consolidation. Stellenbosch University. Available at: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/1136


👁 276
⬇ 263
Published
2021-11-30
How to Cite
Mlambo, D. N. (2021). A kingdom with many internal facets: power, politics and instability in a post-colonial state. Ramifications for public stability. EUREKA: Social and Humanities, (6), 79-90. https://doi.org/10.21303/2504-5571.2021.002161
Section
Law