The Interdisciplinarity of Military Studies: A Sociological Perspective and South African Application
ABSTRACT The study of the military by social scientists became increasingly interdisciplinary after WWII. The interrelationship between the military and society and the uniqueness thereof, derived from its roles, functions and structures, were debated from different perspectives. Institutional changes occurred over time and one of the first attempts at theorising these changes has been by sociologist Charles Moskos (2000: 15) who categorised changing trends into three historical periods, the modern, the late-modern and the postmodern. This sociological typology or model is an ideal-typical development construct of transformation and civil–military relations. A list of force variables in each period depicts armed force characteristics as changing to adapt to trends in civil–military relations, which can be applied to explain relevant military issues and changes in the South African National Defence Force since the 1990s. The relationship between the postmodern SANDF and society is explained by referring to democratic civil control of the military, human security and humanitarian peacekeeping.