Research Articles (Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment)

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Browsing Research Articles (Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment) by Author "Senekal, Burgert A."

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    An ark without a flood: white South Africans' preparations for the end of white-ruled South Africa
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2014) Senekal, Burgert A.
    “Doomsday prepping” has become a highly visible phenomenon in recent years following extensive media coverage on National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel. Although “preppers” currently inhabit South Africa, the run up to the 1994 election saw the white South African public “prepping” on an unprecedented scale. This article examines the origins of preparations made for this historic event, as well as measures taken by the white public to prepare themselves for every eventuality. While the rightwing in particular advocated preparing for what they believed would be a civil war, preparing was not limited to supporters of the rightwing, and a large number of white South Africans prepared for some kind of catastrophe. These possible eventualities range from possible power outages, water shortages and the disruption of food supply networks, to fears that whites would be exterminated as happened in the Belgian Congo, Mozambique and Angola and that the rightwing would start a civil war. In essence, however, prepping perhaps served a psychological function by establishing assurances in what was South Africa’s most volatile period.
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    Mapping a dark network with Social Network Analysis (SNA): the right wing Vaal Dam bomb plot
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2014-06) Senekal, Burgert A.
    The use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to map dark, i.e. illegal, networks gained momentum after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, and numerous studies have been conducted that map Islamic extremist organisations. This article follows international studies and contemporary practices in military intelligence in using SNA to map the ties of the members of the Southern right wing group plot to blow up the Vaal Dam, who were arrested in 2002 and subsequently convicted of sabotage. It is shown how the leader of the plot consistently scores highest on betweenness, degree, and closeness centrality, and that he played an important role as broker between the Southern and the Northern groups (better known as the Boeremag). Ties between the two right wing groups are also discussed, along with the important structural roles that their meeting places played.
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    South Africa in the international arms trade network (ATN) during national party rule (1948-1994): a network analysis
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2015) Senekal, Burgert A.; Stemmet, Jan-Ad; Stemmet, Karlien
    South Africa is renowned for its arms industry, which was established under apartheid to counter external threats during the Cold War, increasing internal threats from the black majority, and internationally imposed arms embargoes. The country’s arms industry developed numerous novel and technologically advanced weapons systems, and the war in Angola meant that these weapons systems were proven in combat. While trade with the rest of the world became increasingly difficult as subsequent embargoes were imposed, the country’s perpetual conflicts demanded the import of weapons in any way possible, while the combat-proven nature of South African weapons systems allowed the country to export tried-and-tested weapons systems as well (at least until the late 1980s). This article uses network theory to investigate South Africa’s role in the global Arms Trade Network (ATN) from 1948 to 1994, and discusses South Africa’s overall role and trading partners. It is shown that, in terms of the trade relations in the ATN, South Africa was a central role player throughout the apartheid years, and that its role changed from importer to exporter in the later years.
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    South Africa in the international arms trade network (ATN) during national party rule (1948-1994): a network analysis
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2015-06) Senekal, Burgert A.; Stemmet, Jan-Ad; Stemmet, Karlien
    Network theory has become a key theoretical framework with which to study complex systems, and a large number of studies have investigated the structure of the World Trade Network (WTN) within this paradigm. This article follows Åkerman and Larsson‑Seim (2014) in investigating South Africa’s position in the international Arms Trade Network (ATN) from 1994 to the present within the framework of network theory and by using data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Using centrality measures such as degree, betweenness, closeness, and in‑ and out‑degree, the article shows that South Africa is a relatively important role player in this trade network, and specifically as an arms exporter. It is also discussed how South Africa’s position changed under the leadership of consecutive presidents, and it is shown that the country became more active during the presidencies of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma than it was under Nelson Mandela.