Report

The Rise of the South African Security Establishment: An Essay on the Changing Locus of State Power

‘The official vehicle for co-ordinating and expressing views has been, of late, the State Security council and especially its Secretariat. The latter is heavily indebted to the South African Defence Force (SADF) for key personnel. Part of the intellectual community, involving private and quasi-official think tanks have also been recruited into this constellation of groups. All are deeply engaged in the debate over defence and strategic policy, and, moreover, most have contributed to a widening delimitation as to what might be properly regarded as strategic cum regime maintenance affairs.’