Abstract
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...