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Dziewanski, Dariusz (2018) Beyond the street : gang entry and exit on the Cape flats. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30904 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. BEYOND THE STREET: GANG ENTRY AND EXIT ON THE CAPE FLATS DARIUSZ DZIEWANSKI Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Development Studies 2018 Department of Development Studies School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London 1 ABSTRACT This project analysed the life histories of ex-members of Cape Flats gangs, focusing on their entry into, and exit from, gang life. Their participation in gangsterism shows us how gang members embody violent street culture and reproduce a street habitus generated by the poverty, racism, and segregation that structures the lives of many Capetonians. But in leaving gangs, they also show how aspects of Bourdieusian criminology (street capital, street field, and street habitus) can be applied to move beyond typical readings of street- based social reproduction. To start, research indicates that violent virtuosos can commit extraordinary acts of aggression to master street life, destabilizing expectations, and logic by which the streets are made and remade. Further, those that can make it out of gangs are able to break down the embodied street dispositions, and build up new, non-street dispositions to transition away from the structuring power of the gang. Gang members exited street life for a normal life, which was created through compositions of non-street repertoires relating to family, work, and faith. The repertoires of normal life offered research participants important forms of social and cultural capital, amidst the disadvantage and disempowerment of township life. Research reorients street culture from an emphasis on social reproduction towards a fuller account of social transformation. Like this, the agent-structure relationship present in Bourdieusian social theory (which has so far favoured the objectifying force of structure) can be revised to restore personal agency. The struggles of the subjects of this research project are compelling examples of how the objective limitations of street life in Cape Town can be overcome. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere appreciation goes out to all that directly and indirectly participated in and supported this project. To begin with, thank you to Rotary International for so generously funding part of my studies. I also cannot but express endless gratitude to my family, without whose love I would not have pressed on. Each of you, in your unique way, was a source of strength, comfort, and motivation. This success is yours, as much as it is mine. But, above all, I would like to acknowledge those people who were selflessly and unabashedly willing to give voice to the tragedy and bravery that define life for many young men and women in Cape Town. The stories you shared stay with me as a testament to the beauty of the human spirit. I hope that I did those narratives justice, and in retelling them am able to – in some small way – contribute to our common aspiration of making a secure and fulfilling life a right enjoyed by each and every person living on the Cape Flats. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration .................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ......................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents ......................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 8 1.1 Street Culture in Cape Town ............................................................................... 10 1.2 Defining the Gang ................................................................................................ 15 1.3 The Historicisation of Gang Violence ................................................................ 25 1.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 32 2 Street Culture and Beyond ................................................................... 35 2.1 Conceptualising ‘The Streets’ ............................................................................ 35 2.2 Resistance against Reproduction ...................................................................... 43 2.3 Disengaging and Desisting from the Street ...................................................... 49 2.4 Disengagement and Desistance in Cape Town ................................................ 56 2.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 59 3 Considering Methods ........................................................................... 62 3.1 Outlining Methods and Sampling ....................................................................... 62 3.2 Putting the Research in Perspective ................................................................. 71 3.3 Analysing Data ..................................................................................................... 72 3.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 73 4 Living The Street Life ............................................................................ 75 4.1 Capital Deficiencies ............................................................................................. 75 4.2 Seeking Street Capital ......................................................................................... 78 4.3 Street Virtuosos ................................................................................................... 95 4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 118 5 Living The Normal Life ....................................................................... 120 5.1 From Virtuosity to Normalcy ............................................................................ 120 5.2 Transitioning towards the Normal Life ............................................................ 125 5.3 What is Normal? ................................................................................................ 128 5.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 139 6 The Repertoires of Normal Life .......................................................... 141 6.1 Domestic Repertoires ........................................................................................ 141 6.2 Workplace Repertoires ...................................................................................... 150 6.3 Religious Repertoires ........................................................................................ 158 6.4 Bridging the Gap with Social Capital ............................................................... 172 6.5 Returning to Violence ........................................................................................ 178 6.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 187 5 7 Struggling to Leave The Streets ........................................................ 191 7.1 Born into Gangs ................................................................................................. 191 7.2 Moving Deeper into the Game .......................................................................... 196 7.3 Determining One’s Future Self ......................................................................... 200 7.4 Getting into Gangs is Easy ............................................................................... 202 7.5 Acquiring Cultural Resources .......................................................................... 205 7.6 Cultural Spaces .................................................................................................. 211 7.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 217 8 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 219 8.1 Beyond the Street .............................................................................................. 219 8.2 Thinking Practically about Gangs .................................................................... 223 8.3 Final Thoughts ................................................................................................... 227 9 Bibliography ................................................ 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