ABSTRACT
The attempt to create a regional security structure in Southern Africa began in earnest in 1974 with the formation of the Frontline States (FLS) Alliance.1 With the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980, the expanded FLS and its military component, the Inter-State Defense and Security Committee (ISDSC), continued to support liberation movements and provide some resistance to South Africa’s forces, which were clearly superior, both quantitatively and qualitatively.2 In Lusaka in 1980, the FLS adopted the declaration Southern Africa: Towards Economic Liberation, which committed the signatory governments to pursue policies aimed at economic liberation (i.e. to reduce economic dependence on South Africa) and the integrated and equitable development of the economies of the region. The Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) was subsequently established in July 1981 by the governments of the nine Southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe3 through the signature of a memorandum of understanding. SADCC stemmed from a frank acknowledgment that Southern Africa was economically dependent on South Africa, the hub of the regional transport and communications network, an important destination for exports and source of imports, and an important destination for many workers from across the region.4
