NCJ Number
108607
Journal
Conflict Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: (1987) Pages: 379-402
Date Published
1987
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Libya and South Africa, two otherwise disparate nations, have incorporated terrorism into their foreign policies and have developed similar ideologies to justify it.
Abstract
The South African regime has assassinated leaders of the African National Congress, the major opposition group; has conducted commando raids into neighboring states; and has provided logistical and financial support, training, transportation, and bases for guerrilla groups which rely heavily on terrorism. Libya has provided support for terrorist groups from the Philippines to Northern Ireland; supplied arms, funds, and training for the 1972 Olympic massacre; and granted sanctuary to various air hijackers. The central ideological concept in South African foreign policy is the notion of a multidimensional attack coordinated by Moscow which seeks the destruction of the Pretoria regime and its replacement with a compliant black government. The unique theology of the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church has fueled this perception through a rigid commitment to righteousness, justice, and separation between God's elect and the damned. Qaddafi's (Libya) ideology is dominated by notions of Western injustice and oppression, the righteousness of his struggle against the West, and the acceptance of violence in his mission. This commitment is fed by aspects of Islamic fundamentalism and the Arab political culture. Both the South African and Libyan ideologies for justifying terrorism derive from religious, historical, and cultural factors, combined with a Manichaean world view, a perception of anomie in the current international system, and a rigid sense of justice and punishment. 63 notes.