With terrorism activities on the rise in Africa, the School of Government Studies at the North-West University (NWU) recently hosted a colloquium on the prospective trajectories of terrorism on the continent.
At the colloquium national and international experts discussed Africa’s efforts in trying to combat terrorism, the role of social media, how the United States of America (USA) is helping African countries, and a high-level review of South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA).
The speakers at the webinar included Prof Hussein Solomon from the University of the Free State (UFS), Dr. Alta Grobbelaar, NWU extraordinary professor from the UFS, Prof J Holmes Armstead from the US Naval War College (retired), and Dr. Piet Croucamp, a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations lecturer at the NWU.
Social media and terrorism
The title of Dr. Grobbelaar’s presentation was “Online terrorism in Africa: Is social media the new frontline?”.
According to Dr. Grobbelaar, social media makes it is easy for terrorists to spread propaganda, advertise, recruit, finance, communicate and even train terrorists.
“Although it seems like social media offers violent extremists endless opportunities, it will never replace the traditional methods they used to recruit, train and communicate to terrorists because some African countries do not have access to the internet,” she said.
She added that members of the public assume most messages from terrorists on social media are fake news due to the inconsistencies and thousands of profiles stating that they are part of various extremist groups.
Counterattack
Prof Solomon shared his insight on the failure of counter-terrorism in Africa. He said that terrorism is on the rise in Africa and this is due to the failure of counter-terrorism by national governments.
He thoroughly explained the six factors that contribute to the failure of counter-terrorism. These included the failure of analysts to diagnose problems adequately, failure of early warning, failed counter insurgencies, having the wrong people in the wrong places, and failed international responses.
USA lends a helping hand
Connecting all the way from America, Prof Armstead spoke about the USA’s need for rapid counter-terrorism and their response capability in the South African development community.
He touched on how the USA has been dealing with terrorism since the 9/11 attack in New York, and the position it plays in Africa.
According to Prof Armstead, the USA has agreements with 38 of the 58 countries on the continent. Although the terms and conditions of these agreements differ from country to country, the main objective is how the USA will assist and support these African countries with armed forces against terrorism.
Not everything is terrorism
Dr Croucamp spoke about the informalisation of functions of the coercive apparatus of the state. He reflected on the high-level review report on the State Security Agency of South Africa. He emphasised that the state capture discourse does not explain the conditions which led to the president appointing the panel. He also spoke about how the informalisation of the authority of the state could lead to state security being involved in cross-border activities.
Click here to watch the colloquium.
