Abstract:

[Purpose/Significance] In 2025, significant reforms were made to the South African intelligence system. Currently, the academic community in China lacks substantial research on the South African intelligence system and its reform. Providing an explanation and evaluation of the main motivations and basic contents of this reform would give all sectors a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the South African intelligence system. It would also provide a reference point for improving relevant systems in China. [Method/Process] We used a literature analysis method to study the main reasons for South Africa's 2025 intelligence reform, and adopted a normative analysis method to examine the fundamental aspects of this reform. [Results/Conclusions] The 2025 intelligence reform in South Africa is a response to the new era of national security threats, democratic governance of intelligence, and constitutional court rulings. This reform has reorganized the civilian intelligence structure, authorized the bulk interception of communications by intelligence agencies, and increased supervision of these agencies. This reform marks a return to the "intelligence philosophy" of 1994 and could enhance South Africa's capabilities in terms of national security governance. However, it does not clarify the National Security Councils position or its relationship with the intelligence community. Furthermore, intelligence agencies' control of bulk interception procedures is not yet strict. There are also doubts about the rationality of the establishment of the National Intelligence Academy. Although there are differences between China and South Africa in terms of politics, economy, culture, etc., South Africa's intelligence reform in 2025 still has important reference value for China. One is to scientifically allocate national intelligence power, which should be clarified by amending the National Intelligence Law to define the purpose and specific reasons for intelligence reconnaissance measures, and to clarify the applicant, conditions for approval, the subject of approval, the content of reviews, and execution procedures. The second is to strengthen the supervision of intelligence power by improving the mechanism for the full process of the prior authorization, in-process and post-supervision of intelligence reconnaissance measures. Thirdly, we should establish a specialized national intelligence academy to strengthen training management in terms of training philosophy, target selection, training content, and career development, and promote systematic education and training for intelligence personnel. In short, we need to strengthen research not only on the intelligence systems of developed countries, but also on those of countries in the Global South. We should adopt an open attitude, and absorb excellent experiences from around the world, providing intellectual support to help China modernize its national security system and capabilities.

Key words: South Africa, intelligence reform, national security, bulk interception, National Security Council