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The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa
Terrorism is a complex phenomenon that requires a complex response that involves state capacity and partnership between countries. It poses a threat to global stability because it undermines democratic architecture. Worldwide, terrorism has inflicted significant loss of life, destabilised government...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Centre for Law and Society
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613282993438720 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ndou, Oliver |
| author2 | Kinnes, Irvin |
| author_browse | Kinnes, Irvin Ndou, Oliver |
| author_facet | Kinnes, Irvin Ndou, Oliver |
| author_sort | Ndou, Oliver |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Terrorism is a complex phenomenon that requires a complex response that involves state capacity and partnership between countries. It poses a threat to global stability because it undermines democratic architecture. Worldwide, terrorism has inflicted significant loss of life, destabilised governments, and created humanitarian crises. In Africa, it presents another dilemma. Countries around the Horn of Africa, such as Somalia, in West Africa, and the Sahel states such as Mali are bedeviled by the existence of groups such as Al-Shabaab, ISIS, and Boko Haram. South Africa is also facing terrorism challenges. It has been used as a helipad for terrorism financing and a transit point because of its complex financial institutions and its perceived incapacity to deal with this phenomenon. The aim and objectives of this research were to determine the capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in democratic South Africa. The research further analysed the manifestation of domestic and international terrorism as perceived in South Africa. Furthermore, a comparative overview of counter-terrorism measures from developed and developing countries was evaluated as a flagship for the South African context. Qualitative research was used in the collection of data. The population was derived from a sample of terrorism and security experts who know the subject matter. Various research tools were developed for collecting data, and these included interviews, questionnaires, recording devices, and document analysis. An interactive qualitative analysis of data was used. The research confirmed that the security agencies are not well-capacitated to combat terrorism in South Africa. However, the research recommended that an integrated, holistic approach is necessary to combat terrorism through collaboration among the various departments of the security agencies. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43029 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:40.116Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Centre for Law and Society |
| publisherStr | Centre for Law and Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43029 The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa Ndou, Oliver Kinnes, Irvin security agencies terrorism South Africa Terrorism is a complex phenomenon that requires a complex response that involves state capacity and partnership between countries. It poses a threat to global stability because it undermines democratic architecture. Worldwide, terrorism has inflicted significant loss of life, destabilised governments, and created humanitarian crises. In Africa, it presents another dilemma. Countries around the Horn of Africa, such as Somalia, in West Africa, and the Sahel states such as Mali are bedeviled by the existence of groups such as Al-Shabaab, ISIS, and Boko Haram. South Africa is also facing terrorism challenges. It has been used as a helipad for terrorism financing and a transit point because of its complex financial institutions and its perceived incapacity to deal with this phenomenon. The aim and objectives of this research were to determine the capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in democratic South Africa. The research further analysed the manifestation of domestic and international terrorism as perceived in South Africa. Furthermore, a comparative overview of counter-terrorism measures from developed and developing countries was evaluated as a flagship for the South African context. Qualitative research was used in the collection of data. The population was derived from a sample of terrorism and security experts who know the subject matter. Various research tools were developed for collecting data, and these included interviews, questionnaires, recording devices, and document analysis. An interactive qualitative analysis of data was used. The research confirmed that the security agencies are not well-capacitated to combat terrorism in South Africa. However, the research recommended that an integrated, holistic approach is necessary to combat terrorism through collaboration among the various departments of the security agencies. 2026-03-23T10:52:57Z 2026-03-23T10:52:57Z 2025 2026-03-23T10:33:35Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43029 en eng application/pdf Centre for Law and Society Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | security agencies terrorism South Africa Ndou, Oliver The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| title_full | The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| title_fullStr | The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| title_short | The capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic South Africa |
| title_sort | capacity and efficacy of security agencies in combating terrorism in the democratic south africa |
| topic | security agencies terrorism South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43029 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ndouoliver thecapacityandefficacyofsecurityagenciesincombatingterrorisminthedemocraticsouthafrica AT ndouoliver capacityandefficacyofsecurityagenciesincombatingterrorisminthedemocraticsouthafrica |