Race, history and the internet: the use of the internet in white supremacist propaganda in the late 1990s, with particular reference to South Africa

Abstract

Abstract This dissertation aims to investigate the use of History by white supremacist groups in South Africa particularly, to rework their identity on the Internet. The dissertation argues that white supremacist groups use older traditions of history, particularly, in the South African case, the ‘sacred saga’, as explained by Dunbar Moodie to create a sense of historical continuity with the past and to forge an unbroken link to the present. The South African white supremacists have been influenced by the History written by Van Jaarsveld for example, as will be shown in the chapters analysing the three chosen South African white supremacist groups. The white supremacists in the international arena also use history, mixed with 1930s Nazi propaganda to promote their ideas.