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Tanzania - Military Doctrine

Since its independence, Tanzania has enjoyed peace and tranquility compared to her neighbors. Generally, Tanzania maintains cordial relationship with its neighbors. Although Tanzania does not face external threats of invasion from its neighbors, security is threatened by the instability across its borders in what is known as the Great Lakes Region. These external threats come from the disturbed state of affairs in Rwanda,

Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the sporadic influx of large numbers of refugees, peaking at around one million in the later 1990s. Recently, Tanzania has been experiencing internal problems with a rise in political and religious fundamentalism that could yet threaten what has been long-standing internal peace.

The organization, roles, and functions of the TPDF have been influenced by the geographical position of the country. Tanzania shares borders with Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west; and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. To the east is Tanzania has 800 kilometers of a coastline with the Indian Ocean. The country has a total area of 942,000 square kilometers.

Tanzania is a secular democratic state with a pluralistic political system and a liberalized market economy. According to the constitution, every citizen has the duty to protect, preserve, and maintain the independence, sovereignty, territory, and unity of the nation. In this regard, defense as part of national security is achieved primarily through efforts intended to meet the political, economic, social, and cultural rights and needs of Tanzania and through efforts to promote and maintain domestic security.

The Defense Forces operate strictly within the bounds of the constitution, domestic legislation, and international humanitarian law. The roles of the TPDF reflect the national objectives and national policies on Defense. At the strategic level, the TPDF complements the economic, political, and diplomatic elements of national power, reflecting the nation’s aspirations and policies over time.

The National Defense Policy (2004), elaborates the above mentioned roles of the TPDF to include to participation in economic development and to participate in peacekeeping activities under the auspices of the UN and AU and the regional bodies, the EAC and the SADC.The Defense Policy includes other roles of the TPDF as participation in national economic development activities in peacetime, provided such participation does not impede the ability of the TPDF to carry out its core missions.

The national defense policy is the subset of government policy concerned with countering military threats and with development, maintenance, preparation, and employment of the armed forces. The defense policy cannot be considered in isolation, but needs to be formulated in harmony with all other aspects of government policy, especially foreign policy. Defense policy requires the provision of forces with a high degree of military effectiveness, sufficient readiness, and a clear sense of purpose for conflict prevention, crisis management, and combat operations.

The authorities carefully tended to instill in the people the acceptance of the military by integrating the military closely into the political and governmental apparatuses. Despite the efforts at integration the military by its very nature — organized, disciplined, and armed — stands out because it is different from civilian institutions. In areas of the country where the government ordered soldiers to force people to abandon their homes and move into ujamua villages, there have been hard feelings and antagonism toward the army. For the most part, however, the military seems to be an accepted part of Tanzanian life, and its small size gives it a low profile.