ABSTRACT
Prior to becoming a republic in 1961 South Africa had been a member of the British Commonwealth, with ready access to foreign sources of weapons, and a correspondingly limited armaments industry. Withdrawal from the Commonwealth, coupled with an arms expansion program, resulted in an increase in the military burden (i.e., militaiy expenditures as a percentage of GDP) from 0.8 percent in 1960 to an average level of 2.5 percent during the 1960 to 1973 period. A second major acceleration phase in military expenditures occurred after 1973, following a further modernization campaign in reaction to an intensification in the perceived threat to South Africa's security position (due, inter alia, to the collapse of Portuguese colonialism in Angola and Mozambique and to the presence of Cuban troops in Angola) and the 1977 decision, by the United Nations Security Council, to impose a mandatory arms embargo on South Africa. The latter led to the establishment of an indigenous arms industry in an attempt to meet the needs of the country’s armed forces. These developments gave rise to an increase in the military burden to an average level of just below 4.0 percent between 1973 and 1989. The subsequent withdrawal of a South African armed force presence in Namibia, coupled with domestic peace initiatives, have resulted in a decline of some 50 percent in real military expenditures since 1989.
