Intelligence operations as terrorism: emerging state terrorism in Botswana

Botswana is considered one of Africa’s credible democracies. Its economic performance and good governance over the years distinguished its statehood from its African counterparts. The stable political landscape backdating to independence also made it a regional security exception. However, the security landscape has changed over the last three years. Using a historical procedure, the article illustrates how the changing political landscape resulted in the creation of a securitized state controlled by intelligence agencies. It also employs a survey procedure—using interviews and other qualitative sources—to illustrate how incidents of incidents of intellectual repression, communication surveillance, extra judicial killings and politicized covert operations have changed the country. The article interrogates the magnitude of security threats as well as the competence of the intelligence security outfits. Having proven the existence of common denominators of state terrorism in Botswana, which point to emerging state terrorism, the study proceeds to make recommendations for structural and operational reform.