The origins of the Garrison State? An analysis of South African political-intellectual discourse during the 1930s and 1940s

Abstract

The American political scientist, Harold Lasswell’s concept of the Garrison State is examined in the light of being a “developmental construct”. Developed in 1941, the concept predicted the future path democracies could take in their confrontation with fascism in the mid-Twentieth Century. The thesis argues that the Garrison State is a state phenomenon and that political parties, with varying ideological beliefs, took advantage of developing Garrison State characteristics in South Africa. These characteristics were not already established, but rather developing. Therefore, the notion of “origins” has been utilised. The thesis follows a chronological sequence focusing on the political-intellectual discourse of the 1930s and 1940s. The prominent figure of Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr is used as a lens through which to view this time. Hofmeyr’s interactions with his peers such as Jan Smuts, D.F. Malan, and Oswald Pirow are highlighted. In the thesis Smuts is framed as a “specialist on violence” and Hofmeyr as an agent of the Garrison State. Pirow, due to his “Five-year Plan,” is seen as an inadvertent agent of the Garrison State. Ultimately, the thesis positions the Garrison State as one of many anti-fascist manifestations.