Demilitarising Southern Africa: Lessons from the Central American Experience

Demilitarisation means both a significant and sustained reduction in military expenditure and a movement towards a society where conflicts are handled without the use of military force. This article sets out the case for demilitarisation and briefly evaluates eight alternative ways of meeting a country’s security needs. It examines the experience of three Central American countries which have demilitarised, particularly that of Costa Rica, which has social and economic indicators well above those which would be expected, given its GDP per capita. It then considers whether demilitarisation would be feasible for southern African countries and concludes that, at least for some, it would be a logical decision to have no military forces while others would benefit by reallocating resources away from the military towards alternative ways of achieving security.