Gazing in the Congo (DRC): the dark heart of Africa (2006-2017)

[jmm99]

to clarify my post's purpose. Mine was much less to suggest historical references (though the monographs are also that) than to point up future possibilities. Those possibilities go well beyond sub-Saharan Africa.

I was intrigued by Latzko's "quality vs quantity" dichotomy, which has been ongoing since it was reflected in the 1400s by the French solution (ordonnance companies, regular soldiers) and the Italian solution (free companies, mercenaries). Both those solutions sought "quality" vs the "quantity" solution of medieval levies. Contamine (chap. 4, Free Companies, Gundpowder and Permanent Armies).

As Scott Fitzsimmons proves in his studies of Congo, Angola and Sierra Leone, "quality" is not guaranteed with either "national armies" or "mercenaries". In neo-Orwellian terms, some pigs are more equal than others; and not all animals are pigs.

The ISSAfrica studies (I linked to only 2 of at least a half dozen on "private security" that are online in its publications) point up the vacuum that exists in Africa in "military effectiveness".

Using Fitzsimmons' definitions:

Military performance, the dependent variable in this paper, is specifically concerned with winning and losing battles. It is the outcome of battle; it is not what a military does in battle. Military performance is not a characteristic of an organization but rather the result of an organization’s activity. This concept does not equate with military effectiveness, another major variable in this paper referring to the range of military behaviours that a military force is capable of undertaking. Armed forces may be highly effective yet still be defeated.

For example, the German Army was arguably the most effective fighting force during both the First and Second World Wars yet it ultimately lost numerous battles and both conflicts. Indeed, the German army is often cited as an example of extraordinary military effectiveness because it fought so well even when faced with more numerous and better armed foes.

Therefore, while military effectiveness and military performance are related concepts, it is important to recognize that they are quite different; military effectiveness is only one possible determinant of military performance. Martin Van Creveld, Fighting Power: German and US Army Performance, 1939-1945 (London, UK: Arms and Armour Press, 1983); Allan Millett, Williamson Murray, and Kenneth Watman, "The Effectiveness of Military Organizations," International Security 11, no. 1 (Summer 1986).

Millett's seminal 1986 article is here.

If a vacuum exists militarily, it will be filled. And, military vacuums seem likely not only in sub-Saharan Africa, but elsewhere in the world. Few nations can afford a "TdM" and "Legion" to engage in external interventions.

So, while I wouldn't mind going back to 1961 (when I was 19), that wasn't my purpose - avant, avant !! toujours avant !!

Regards

Mike