  A model for the quantum effective description of the vacuum structure of
thermalized SU(3) Yang-Mills theory is proposed. The model is based on Abelian
projection leading to a Ginzburg-Landau theory for the magnetic sector. The
possibility of topologically non-trivial, effective monopole fields in the
deconfining phase is explored. These fields are assumed to be
Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield saturated solutions along the compact, euclidean
time dimension. Accordingly, a gauge invariant interaction for the monopole
fields is constructed.
  Motivated by the corresponding lattice results the vacuum dynamics is assumed
to be dominated by the monopole fields. A reasonable value for the critical
temperature is obtained, and the partial persistence of non-perturbative
features in the deconfining phase of SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, as it is measured
on the lattice, follows naturally.
