An analysis of the changing focus of South African civilian intelligence

Abstract

This study identifies and analyses the focus of South African civilian intelligence from 1994 to 2006. South African civilian intelligence is composed of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the South African Secret Service (SASS) which deals with domestic and foreign intelligence respectively, as well as the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC). The period under review coincided with the advent of a new political dispensation professing democratic principles. The conduct of intelligence functions, beyond being informed by the organising principles of the government of the day, was also influenced by the post-Cold War widening of the security agenda as well as the parallel emergence of a new generation of threats. Through a review of legislation, policy documents and pronouncements, academic publications and press reports, the following assumptions are tested and confirmed: <ul> <li> The threats to the integrity of the state were given priority just after 1994.</li> <li> The post-Cold War broadening of the security agenda was increasingly taken into account by South African intelligence agencies.</li> <li> Global and regional issues were elevated to intelligence priorities.</li> </ul> Copyright