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The D evil Rejoiced: V olk , D evils and Moral Panic in White S outh A frica, 1978–1982
Author(s) -
Dunbar Danielle,
Swart Sandra
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of historical sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.186
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1467-6443
pISSN - 0952-1909
DOI - 10.1111/johs.12044
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , politics , white (mutation) , moral panic , panic , political science , rhetoric , ambiguity , sociology , law , theology , psychology , philosophy , history , anxiety , biochemistry , chemistry , linguistics , archaeology , psychiatry , gene
The first four years of P . W . B otha's premiership in apartheid S outh A frica were plagued by intra‐party politicking, renewed anti‐apartheid resistance, economic instability, and S atan. Between 1978 and 1982, the heavy political rhetoric of “total onslaught” inflected perceived “moral onslaught” in a virulent moral panic over S atanism in white, and particularly A frikaner, S outh A frica. With attention to its discursive and socio‐political context, this paper seeks to explore the emergence of this distinct satanic moral panic in white S outh A frican history, arguing that it reflects the intense political and moral ambiguity of white society as the edifices of apartheid began to fracture.