Preparation of the Contemporary Operational Environment

South Africa, a country located at the south of the African continent served as a stopover route for Dutch traders who carried their cargoes from Europe to Asia. The white settlers then formed their own government; they excluded the blacks by means of an apartheid (Fiske, Edward B.

Elusive Equity: Education Reform in Post-Apartheid South Africa p.17), which promoted racial segregation (Seekings, Jeremy. Class, Race, and Inequality in South Africa p.128). The apartheid was abolished in 1994 giving the Blacks the majority to rule.

The Mandela governance from 1994 to 1999 gave new light and hope for equality in the country (Arnold, Guy. New South Africa p. 31). Geography South Africa has a total land area of 1,219,912 sq km/ 472,281 sq miles.

Slightly twice than the size of the state of Texas (Your Pocket Guide to South African Business, Customs & Etiquette, World Trade Press p. 7-8). Two thirds of the country, the terrain is mostly rugged it is made up of a plateau region with a narrow coastal zone. It is bordered by Namibia in the northwest, Botswana in the north; Mozambique in the northeast, the Indian Ocean borders the south part of the country.The vast stretch of land that separates the coastal area from the plateau is called the Great Escarpment. Its territory includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion and Prince Edward).

Its territorial claim to the sea is 12 Nautical miles (Beck, Roger B. History of South Africa p. 2). Demography The South African Population of 43,786,115 is made up of 79 % Black African; White inhabitants comprise 9.

6% of the population (Passport South Africa, World Trade Press p.8). Colored, accounts for 8.9%, while Indian/Asian account for 2.

5% of the total population. 80 % of the population belongs to the Christian faith separated by different church congregations. Indian nationals practice Hindu and Islam.The Jewish population accounts for 100,000.

(Beck, Roger B. History of South Africa p.4). It has eleven official languages, IsiZulu the most widely spoken 23.8% of the population (Mesthrie,Rajend. Language in South Africa p.

12), second; IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English accounts for only 8.

2% of the population, same as with Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other spoken languages 7.2% (Christopher, A. J.

Atlas of Changing South Africa p.33).Politics The Republic of South Africa, formerly known as the Union of South Africa (Seekings, Jeremy. Class, Race, and Inequality in South Africa p.

341), is a republic under the governance of President Thabo MBEKI. The legislative branch of the state houses 400 seats, which members are elected through popular election to serve 5 year terms. Economic The country is a middle income economy on the rise. It has a steady supply of natural resources which makes it easier for the country to be included in the rising economies which surpasses most of the premiere cities in Europe and Asia. Cost of living is on the upward direction.South Africa is now ranking up against European cities in terms of standards of living (Thompson, Mary Anne.

South Africa Country Career Guide p.23). Military The country has a strong military in terms of numbers. With 6,042,498 men aged 16 – 49 and women aged 16 -49, the country has enough manpower to render military service.

South Africa has been known to transact with other countries to acquire hi-tech military equipment, and also has been known to sell arms to different nations offering the best deals in the arms trade.Sociological and Psychological South Africa has a history of racial discrimination that stems from the Apartheid; a racial discriminatory rule that started in 1948 then ended in 1994, giving the black population the majority and the right to rule (Arnold, Guy, New South Africa p.11).This racial discrimination and separation greatly affects the growth both socially and psychologically by the inhabitants of the country. The mindset is always with the color of the skin.

Even with the abolition of the apartheid, still there are still shadows of the past haunting the people of South Africa. Blacks, even with the majority rule now in effect still have limitations in certain aspects of society which greatly affects the balance and growth of the South Africans as a people and a nation.Economic Situation With a background or apartheid in the country, leaders of South Africa are daunted by the task of rebuilding a once separated country by racial discrimination. Being separated by years from apartheid, many of the leaders found it hard to unite the once separated territories. During Nelson Mandela’s assumption in public office, he was challenged to live up to the expectations of the international community to alleviate poverty and reconstruct the economy with financial aid coming from the west. The project of the ANC, the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) which hopes to help the ailing economy, proved to be a great success.

Military StructureThe South African National Defense Force (SANDF) is the main branch of the military. Military structure also includes the South African Army, the South African Navy, and the South African Air Force. With end of the apartheid in 1994 and the Blacks winning the majority rule, many of the Black separatist movements and military factions were integrated into the SANDF (Arnold, Guy. New South Africa p.

168).ConclusionThe present nature and stability of South Africa as a state now cannot be denied as strong and on the rise. However, there are factors which may prevent the state from becoming a total threat to the United States of America. First, its long history of apartheid, which until now separates the population. Economic and Military Growth is seen as significant. Especially with recent purchases of Hi –Tech military equipment and the arms trade.

Still with the terrain, the form of government, which is still segregated even under one rule, and the shadows of the past are the factors which prevents this country from becoming a threat to the United States of America.