Description
Book SynopsisThis book is the first full history of South African intelligence and provides a detailed examination of the various stages in the evolution of South Africaâs intelligence organizations and structures.
Covering the apartheid period of 1948-90, the transition from apartheid to democracy of 1990-94, and the post-apartheid period of new intelligence dispensation from 1994-2005, this book examines not only the apartheid governmentâs intelligence dispensation and operations, but also those of the African National Congress, and its partner, the South African Communist Party (ANC/SACP) â as well as those of other liberation movements and the âindependent homelandsâ under the apartheid system. Examining the civilian, military and police intelligence structures and operations in all periods, as well as the extraordinarily complicated apartheid governmentâs security bureaucracy (or 'securocracy') and its structures and units, the book discusses how South Africaâs Cold War âpositionâ influenced its relationships with various other world powers, especially where intelligence co-operation came to bear. It outlines South Africaâs regional relationships and concerns â the foremost being its activities in South-West Africa (Namibia) and its relationship with Rhodesia through 1980.
Finally, it examines the various legislative and other governance bases for the existence and operations of South Africaâs intelligence structures â in all periods â and the influences that such activities as the Rivonia Trial (at one end of the history) or the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (at the other end) had on the evolution of these intelligence questions throughout South Africaâs modern history.
This book will be of great interest to all students of South African politics, intelligence studies and international politics in general.
Trade Review"Kevin O’Brien provides a clearly structured account of the development of the South African intelligence services from 1948 to 2005, within the context of increased resistance and counter-revolutionary strategies by the state... an intriguing read." - Chris Saunders, University of Cape Town; South African Historical Journal, 63:4
"The South African Intelligence Services is a unique, well documented study that will serve as the definitive work on the topic from the “intelligence dispensation” point of view." - Hayden Peake, Center for the Study of Intelligence; Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 55 No. 3
Table of Contents1. Introduction: South African Intelligence in Revolution and Counter-Revolution 1948-2005 2. The Birth of South Africa’s Intelligence Capability and the Rise of the "Securocracy", 1948 to 1972 3. "Total Strategy" and the "Securocratisation" of the Government, 1972-1978 4. Hydra: The Rise of the National Intelligence and Counter-Revolutionary Structures, 1978-1983 5. Carrot and Stick: The Domestic COIN Paradigm, 1980-1985 6. The Assassins’ Web: The Growth of Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Intelligence, 1979-1985 7. Crossing the Rubicon: "The Gloves Come Off" for a Total Counter-Revolutionary Strategy, 1985-1990 8. Negotiating a Settlement: Reform and Retrenchment For All, 1990-1994 9. Progress and Problems: South Africa’s New Intelligence Dispensation, 1994-2005 10. Conclusion: Still Fighting The War – The Legacy of South Africa’s Intelligence History
