Scientia Militaria : South African Journal of Military Studies - Volume 41, Issue 1, January 2013

The Black Sea region as a buffer between great powers and cordon sanitaire was and still is important in European history. After the 18th century, the Russian empire began a gradual but unstoppable move towards the conquest of the region, leading to a setback for Turkish influence. The Crimean War enabled Western powers to contain Russian expansion for some decades. For small and medium-sized countries like Romania, it is difficult to erase historic experiences from their collective memory. During the Cold War, the Black Sea was a virtual "Soviet lake" from a military point of view. The West controlled only the straits "owned" by Turkey following the Montreux Convention. After the implosion of the USSR, this strategic area was neglected by the Western powers and viewed by the Russian Federation as a traditional sphere of influence. Since 1991, Ukraine holds about 30% of the northern shore of the Black Sea, Georgia controls roughly 12% of the maritime littoral (including the separatist territories) while Russia owns about 13% of the Black Sea shores. Turkey and Ukraine hold the biggest share of the Black Sea shore. Generally speaking, during the two last decades, there have been two competing visions about the future: the Euro-Atlantic one, which insists on opening and internationalising the sea, and the Eurasian vision, which wants the Black Sea to remain closed and impenetrable to foreign interferences. This article deals with these issues.

In 1900, the Dutch Ministry of War sent four military observers to South Africa, in an attempt to come to terms with the latest developments in the military field. Once in South Africa, the promising young Dutch officers selected for the mission remained focused strongly on decisive battles Jominian style, which they considered relevant for future warfare in Europe. They almost completely ignored guerrilla war fighting. However, inspired by the Boer commandos, their analysis of the Anglo-Boer War also ended in pleas for a fundamentally new relationship between army and society in Holland, and a new Dutch militia army organisation (a volksleger), comparable to the Boers' commandos. Fascinatingly, this ideal of a militia army had probably much more to do with the observers' interpretation of the Dutch national past and the values they regarded characteristic of it, than with contemporary South Africa, since the earliest forms of the Dutch army were also believed to have been a volksleger. In this way, the military observers from the Netherlands converted the South African present into Dutch history to serve their country's national future.

This article scrutinises the literature on bad public leadership and then presents an analysis of a South African case of bad public leadership. Leadership is analysed in terms of contextual as well as conceptual perspectives. The article emphasises that both context as well as conceptual and theoretical factors should be considered when analysing the emergence, manifestation and maintenance of bad public leadership. In this sense, the article speaks to both precipitating as well as predisposing issues as factors in causing and sustaining bad public leadership. The literature is then applied to the rise and the subsequent demise of Jackie Selebi, erstwhile National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and President of Interpol, as a case study of bad public leadership.

The South African Department of Defence and Military Veterans can be commended for having taken a bold step in an endeavour to establish an independent entity capable of conducting oversight of its military through the introduction of the Military Ombud Act. However, said Act seems not to adequately address pertinent issues experienced by the defence sector. These issues include who may submit a complaint, the independence of the Military Ombud (MO) and its accountability structure. Unless the Bill deals with these issues, we are likely to see dispossession of the public protector's investigation powers and the establishment of a mere toothless tiger. Under the current format of the Bill, the MO is likely to become the Minister's mouthpiece. It would deepen and marginalise military complainants' hope of finding a remedy in an independent structure capable of challenging some of the questionable military acts or omissions that have no substance while not achieving the exercise, enjoyment and fulfilment of military complainants' human rights in accordance with the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Political and socio-economic factors led to the resurrection of piracy during the 1970s. By 1983, the problem became alarming, leading to the adoption of anti-piracy measures by the international community. During the same period, maritime terrorist attacks increased, although incidents remained localised. As insurgent movements fought on land to gain independence from former colonial governments, terrorist actions spilled into the maritime domain. The attacks on the USS Cole in 2000 and on the French-registered oil tanker, Limburg, in 2002 coupled with the terrorist attacks on the United States of America (US) on 11 September 2001 (9/11), created fear that a captured ship could be used as a delivery platform for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or that a ship with dangerous cargo could be used as a weapon. No exclusively maritime terrorist organisations exist today. Maritime terrorism is only one of the areas of operation for terrorist organisations. Links between maritime pirates and terrorists are also limited, as the objectives of these organisations differ. Pirates have financial motives, while terrorists have political motives. Although cooperation between these groups is unlikely, it is not impossible and could be dangerous especially in vulnerable areas such as the coast of Somalia, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The film Mädchen in Uniform (1931), a love story between a teacher and student in Germany, is widely recognised as the first pro-lesbian film. Banned by the National Socialists, it opened the way for pro-lesbian film production and was followed by films such as Acht Mädels im Boot (1932), Anna and Elisabeth (1933) and Ich für dich, du für mich (Me for You, You for Me, 1934). These films strongly contrasted with documentaries and popular films of the Third Reich that portrayed a new and heroic German nation growing from the ashes of defeat following the uneasy Peace of Versailles. The film Aimée & Jaguar (1999) revisited the theme of lesbian love during the National Socialist regime. Based on a true story, the film is a narrative of the love between a German and a Jewish woman. Despite controversy, the film won numerous prizes in Germany. This article investigates the portrayal of gender and power in Mädchen in Uniform and Aimée & Jaguar. It seeks to explain how lesbian women and the love between them were portrayed in a time of male domination, militarism and what was seen as hetero-normality. This contribution examines gender-related power struggles and the political climate in Germany at the time of the Weimar Republic and the build-up to National-Socialist militarism.

This book has seven chapters covering aspects of Nigeria's history, the author's experience during the Civil War, 1967-1970 and his reflection on Nigeria as a nation. The purpose of the book as the author makes clear is "to fill the gap and further highlight the role played by the lower command - the platoons, companies, battalions and brigades etc." Finally, and among others, it is the story of how young officers without professional training, but consumed with patriotic fervour, fought in a war.

"'Terrorism' is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; 'War' is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it" - Sydney Harris. With this quote the reader is introduced to developments worldwide over the past twenty years and their future implications.

Timothy Winegard saw active duty in the Canadian Reserve Force from 2001 to 2010 and served on detachment duty to the British Army for a two-year period. He obtained various academic degrees from 1999 onwards, among others a BA Hons degree in History and an MA in War Studies. The book under discussion here is the third work by this author. Other publications from this author include Oka: A convergence of cultures and the Canadian forces (2008), For King and Kanata (2011), and the latest work entitled Indigenous peoples of the British dominions and the First World War (2012).