Measuring the perceptions of senior officers of the South African National Defence Force towards terrorism in South Africa : implications for security sector refor

Abstract

Terrorism remains a global security threat. Despite its longevity, many of its aspects remain unstudied. This article assesses the SANDF senior officers’ perceptions on terrorism. This assessment is undertaken with the intention to determine whether there is a need for a security sector reform in South Africa to address a potential terrorist threat. Quantitative data was obtained from 280 senior officers of the SANDF through survey questionnaires. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics from Version 26 of IBM SPSS Computer Program. Although South Africa has not experienced large-scale terrorist attacks, the respondents exhibit substantial apprehension about the potential for such an event. Furthermore, the respondents demonstrate a heightened scepticism in the government’s general response towards terrorism. Finally, there exists a widespread deficiency in the respondents’ confidence on the efficacy of the anti-terrorism policy framework in addressing and preventing terrorism in South Africa. These findings suggest that there might be a need for a holistic approach to security sector reform to effectively combat and prevent terrorism in South Africa.