ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Southern Africa's attempt at building regional collective security and the architecture for peace and sustainable development. It outlines the political economy of Southern Africa, and how the 'region' and its 'regioness' have been constructed, in particular the emergence of a regional security complex. The chapter focuses on how Southern African Development Communities (SADCs) economic and developmental regionalism have expanded into the regional peace and security domain, and the establishment of a multi-dimensional regional peace and security mechanism in the form of SADC's Organ for Politics, Defence and Security. It discusses with the region's foray into peacemaking, peacekeeping and conflict management in both Southern Africa and the Great Lakes region. The preoccupation with regional security threats led to the formation of a variety of regional integration and co-operation groupings in the region. The intervention strategy, according to Rupiya, was a calculated political strategy aimed at criminalising other belligerent states intervening in the Congo war.
