The Daisy Spy Ring
Henning van Aswegen and Peter M. Swanepoel
‘The Daisy Spy Ring’ is a definitive inside look at the most sensational and successful espionage operation conducted by South Africa’s intelligence services.
In a daring and dangerous secret intelligence operation conducted from South Africa in multiple European countries, two intelligence agents and their sub-agents managed to infiltrate and thoroughly disrupt the activities of the South African Communist Party in Africa.
In this original and unique story, Henning van Aswegen, a former lecturer at South Africa’s National Intelligence Academy, and the historian Peter M. Swanepoel, provide an in-depth analytical account of South Africa’s intelligence services and espionage operations.
Operatives in The Daisy Spy Ring reported on the fierce competition between Moscow and Liberal, socio-democratic Western governments to “capture the revolution” in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.
It is a story that has remained secret for forty years and has never before been told. Until now.
According to the authors, this book presents a detailed account of Operation Daisy and the espionage efforts of South Africa’s security services during the Cold War.
“We are aware that intelligence history, particularly where it intersects with the anti-apartheid struggle, remains politically charged and emotionally resonant. Much of the public and academic discourse since 1994 has rightly focused on the heroic dimensions of the liberation movements. Yet this emphasis has also meant that the inner workings, motivations, and capabilities of apartheid-era intelligence services have received limited critical attention and are often presented through simplified or moralising lenses.
“Our aim is not to revise history in favour of any regime, but to contribute to a fuller, more complex understanding of South Africa’s past. Drawing on declassified documents, interviews, and operational records, this book offers a perspective that has been largely absent from existing narratives.
“It is our hope that this work will provoke further research, reflection, and debate about how ideology, secrecy, and geopolitics shaped the trajectory of South African history—and that it will help foster a more nuanced appreciation of the shadow conflicts that shaped South Africa’s path to democracy,” said Van Aswegen and Swanepoel.
About the authors:
Henning Van Aswegen
Henning van Aswegen was born in Bloemfontein and served as a commissioned officer in the South African Defence Force (SADF), and South Africa’s civilian intelligence services. As a student at Potchefstroom University, he worked as a stringer for South African Associated Newspapers (SAAN), before joining the Perskor Group as a political correspondent. He is an intelligence historian and author, known for his books and articles on the South African civilian intelligence services. His most recent books are Spioenmeesters, The Spymasters of South Africa; Die Buro; Training Intelligence Officers; Russian Espionage in South Africa; and The Daisy Spy Ring.
Peter Swanepoel
Peter is a trained historian with a deep interest in endurance sports as well as the illumination of the past. My first book, The Daisy Spy Ring, investigates South African intelligence operations during the Cold War. I am currently researching the history of South African cycling, with a particular focus on the apartheid era, where my academic work and personal passion for sport intersect. He is currently funded by the Wellcome Trust.