Politieke persepsie: skaduwees, eggo's of werklikheid — ‘n ontleding van Suid‐Afrika se persepsies van die kommunistiese bedreiging

Abstract

The article has a dual purpose. Firstly, to investigate, in theory, the truth of the statement that policy makers’ perceptions of the state of the environment are more important than the actual environment, and secondly, to illustrate this with reference to South African policy makers’ perceptions of a Communist threat against the country. The establishment and nature of the perception that Communism poses a serious threat to the country is examined for the period 1945 to 1970. This provides the background to a more detailed discussion of South Africa's perceptions of a Chinese Communist threat during the early 1970's. Some implications for current perceptions are also pointed out.