Evaluating the effectiveness of South Africa’s policy and institutional framework to combat and prevent terrorism in South Africa

The study uses the institutional theory as its primary theoretical framework to assess the institutions responsible for countering terrorism. It additionally identifies South Africa’s anti-terrorism legislation and relevant institutions responsible for combatting and preventing terrorism. It further evaluates the institutions’ history in preventing terrorism, as well as their state of readiness in case of probable attacks. Importantly, the study measures the respondents’ perceptions regarding the institutions’ ability to quell a terrorist attack.

This study utilised an explanatory sequential mixed method approach, which involved surveying 280 senior officers from the SANDF. The respondents were selected using a probability sampling technique known as simple random sampling. An additional 19 academics and security practitioners were chosen using a non-probability random method, purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used for this purpose. The quantitative data was analysed using the IBM SPSS computer software’s descriptive statistics. The qualitative data, on the other hand, was analysed using the thematic analysis approach. These elements were integrated and interpreted simultaneously.

The study’s key finding is that there appears to be a general lack of public trust and confidence in the capacity of government institutions and the anti-terrorism policy framework to effectively combat and prevent terrorism in South Africa. This can be attributed to the perceived high levels of corruption in certain government institutions, institutional dysfunctionality, and a general apathy towards the government. Furthermore, inadequate communication regarding terrorism may have adversely impacted the respondents’ views on the government’s capacity to address a terrorist threat in South Africa. This finding is suggestive of a need for a holistic approach to security sector reform in order to effectively combat terrorism in South Africa.

本研究以机构理论作为其核心的理论框架，用以评估负责反恐的机构。此外，它还识别了南非的反恐立法以及负责打击和预防恐怖主义的相应机构。研究进一步评估了这些机构在预防恐怖主义方面的历史以及面临可能袭击时的准备状态。重要的是，研究还衡量了受访者对于机构抑制恐怖袭击能力的认知。该研究采用了解释性顺序混合方法，涉及对南非国防军280名高级军官的调查。受访者采用简单随机抽样技术进行选择。此外，还通过非概率随机方法，即目的抽样方法，选择了19名学者和安全实践者。为此目的，采用了半结构化访谈。定量数据使用IBM SPSS计算机软件的描述性统计方法进行分析。另一方面，定性数据则采用主题分析方法进行分析。这些元素被同时整合和解读。研究的主要发现是，似乎普遍缺乏公众对政府机构和反恐政策框架在有效打击和预防南非恐怖主义方面的信任和信心。这可以归因于某些政府机构中感知的高腐败水平、机构功能障碍以及普遍对政府的冷漠态度。此外，关于恐怖主义的沟通不足可能对受访者对政府应对南非恐怖威胁能力的看法产生了不利影响。这一发现暗示了需要采取综合性的安全部门改革方法，以有效打击南非的恐怖主义。