M.A. (Political Studies) / The study sets out to establish the importance of perceptions in policy formulation and to illustrate this with reference to South African policy formulators' perceptions of the communist threat against the country. It is commonly accepted by theoreticians that in policy making, the state of the environment does not matter so much as what policy formulators believe it to be. Furthermore, there will always be a discrepancy between images of reality and reality itself. The operation of various mechanisms that influence perception and may, over time, result in inaccurate images, are highlighted in the first part of the study. A second part focuses on early perceptions of the communist threat in the post- Second World War period. This provides the basis for an in-depth discussion of perceptions and measures to counter the perceived threat during Prime Minister Vorster's term of office (1966-78) and part of Botha's premiership (1978-82). Four outstanding and related themes can be identified in the study. The first is the perception of a constantly growing communist threat to both the internal and external security of South Africa. A second theme evolves around policy formulators' growing awareness, and later acceptance, of South Africa's international isolation to counter the perceived threat. A related perception is that Western powers, by refusing to help South Africa, not only make themselves available as handymen of the communists, but form part of a total onslaught against the Republic. South Africa's increased reliance on more aggressive means to ensure its security, is a third theme. This illustrates the interplay between perceptions and decisions. A final theme refers to the initial identification of the threat as directed primarily at whites. Later, no doubt due to the perceived need for a united South African response to the threat, the emphasis shifted to include all population groups as targets of communist subversion...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:13165 |
| Date | 09 February 2015 |
| Creators | Botes, Willem Nicolaas |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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