Xenophobia' and Collective Mobilization in a South African Settlement: the Politics of Exclusion at the Threshold of the State
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The London School of Economics and Political Science CITIZENSHIP, 'XENOPHOBIA' AND COLLECTIVE MOBILIZATION IN A SOUTH AFRICAN SETTLEMENT: THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION AT THE THRESHOLD OF THE STATE Tamlyn Jane Monson A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology of The London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, August 2015 Supervisor: Prof Chetan Bhatt Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). Certain findings from this study were published in the following format during the course of my studies, with authorization from the Research Degrees Unit at the London School of Economics: Monson, Tamlyn. 2015. Everyday politics and collective mobilization against foreigners in a South African shack settlement. Africa, 85(1), pp 131-153 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 103,026 words. 2 Citizenship, 'xenophobia' and collective mobilization in a South African settlement: The politics of exclusion at the threshold of the state Abstract This thesis develops a layered historical, ethnographic and theoretical analysis of ‘xenophobic' mobilisation and informal residence in South Africa. It explores the role of historically and spatially defined political identities in shaping exclusionary collective mobilization in the informal settlement, countering notions of ‘xenophobia’ as an effect of poverty, racism, elite manipulation, or psychological pathology. It argues that, in a context of stratified citizenship, ‘exclusionary’ mobilization by infra-citizens may be directed toward fuller citizenship and inclusion rather than toward the exclusion of a racial, cultural or ethnic other. Moving from the national to the local scale, and using a combination of archival data, documentary analysis, and ethnographic field research, I demonstrate how the South African squatter camp emerged as a site for the insurgent claiming of citizenship and became a place of anticipated transition to equal citizenship in the years leading up to 1994. A double- embedded case study in the settlement of Mshongo in Atteridgeville, Tshwane, depicts how, post-democracy, this site of transition transformed into a static and apparently permanent ‘threshold space’ neither inside nor outside citizenship. Here, the distinct institutional structures and repertoires of collective mobilization and violence produced by spatial and political inequalities continued to produce a threshold form of (infra-)citizenship, leading to a resurgence of the settlements' traditions of collective action. I argue that individualistic economic and political practices by non-citizen newcomers became vivid transgressions of this tradition, particularly at times of protest where the salience of collective labour and priorities was magnified. Theoretically, the thesis provides an account of local belonging as built on anteriority and political involvement, challenging dominant readings of autochthony. In addition, it explores the relationship between ‘threshold space’ and exclusion so as to illuminate tensions between inclusion and exclusion; agency and ‘bare life’; citizens’ and human rights. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Chetan Bhatt, for the lively interest he has always shown in my work, and for his generosity and encouragement throughout the course of my PhD research. I am very grateful to residents of Jeffsville and Brazzaville who trusted me with their stories, and particularly to the key informants who gave many hours of their time to this project. I would like to thank several people who assisted me in various ways. In Jeffsville: Jeff Ramohlale, Isaac Thipe, Ernest Tshavuyo, Godfrey Mashigo and Sammy Botolo. In Brazzaville and Vergenoeg: Stevens Mohlala, Nicolas Kekana, Morithi Phasha, Mike Chauke and Phoshi Theledi. To my translator, Nhlanhla Letswalo (and Rahab, who introduced me to him), I also extend an enormous thank you. To my parents, who took on childcare responsibilities during my periods of intensive work in South Africa in 2012 and 2014, and to my husband and daughter who have endured my absences and the changing seasons of a long and isolating research process, thank you all. Finally, this thesis would not have been possible without the generous financial support of an LSE PhD Scholarship, which paid my fees and maintenance, and additional funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France, which funded my fieldwork as a participant in the XenAfPol research network on the Politics of Xenophobic Mobilization in Africa. 4 Table of Contents List of Figures 7 List of Tables 8 Abbreviations 9 Introduction 10 Chapter 1: 'Xenophobic' violence and informal settlement in South Africa 16 1.1. Grappling with the unthinkable: A critical review of knowledge production 16 1.2. Towards a deeper perspective 28 1.3. A new lens: the politics of informal settlements 32 1.4. Conclusion 38 Chapter 2: The politics of the squatter camp: concepts and methods 40 2.1. Designing research at the intersection of history, geography and politics 42 2.2. Time, scale and material practices in squatter politics: selecting methods 50 2.3. Researching an 'outside': seeking and analysing divergent constructs 54 2.4. Risk and ethics 62 2.5. Conclusion 66 Chapter 3: Spatial strategies of rule and the 'question of citizenship' in South Africa 68 3.1. Citizenship, stratification and the boundaries of political membership 70 3.2. Engineering citizenship through place: the challenge of the city in South Africa 74 3.3. Spatial strategies of rule: producing political identity through exception, containment and excess 77 3.4. Cycles of containment and excess 84 3.5. The township as a foothold for interstitial politics 91 3.6. Conclusion 96 Chapter 4: Squatter placemaking and the state: from repressive to inclusive exceptionalism? 97 4.1. Squatter placemaking: a counterpolitical topography 100 4.2. Ordering urbanization: from influx control to squatter control 105 4.3. Transition through exception: squatter law in the Transvaal 113 4.4. Inclusion after exclusion: challenges to transition? 121 4.5. Conclusion 123 Chapter 5: Squatter politics in Mshongo: insurgency, anticipation and political identity 125 5.1. Making space in Atteridgeville: space and politics in transition 125 5.2. Producing ‘the island’: violence, community and the founding of a ‘disorderly’ place 135 5.3. Anticipation and insurgency west of Jeffsville: squatter politics after democracy 151 5.4. The waiting list for citizenship: a hierarchy of entitlement in transition 157 5 5.5. Conclusion 166 Chapter 6: Suspended Transition: (Infra)Citizenship on a Permanent Threshold 168 6.1. Suspended on the threshold of citizenship 169 6.2. Between legality and illegality 171 6.3. Formal political rights on the threshold 187 6.4. On the threshold of the state’s care 195 6.5. Continuing infra-citizenship in the threshold space 200 6.6. Conclusion 203 Chapter 7: The Context and Logic of ‘Xenophobic’ Mobilization 205 7.1. Attacks on foreigners in March 2008 206 7.2. Time, population change and the rise of established/newcomer stratification 214 7.3. Meaningful membership in a multi-scalar world: the national and the global in the parochial 228 7.4. Conclusion 237 8. Conclusion: Reflecting on Exclusion at the Threshold of Citizenship 240 8.1. Rereading ‘xenophobic’ mobilization 244 8.2. Crossing broader conceptual thresholds 246 8.3. Roads not yet travelled 253 Bibliography 254 Appendix 1: Archives Consulted 278 Appendix 2: Summary of Primary Fieldwork 279 Appendix 3: Summary of Secondary Dataset 281 Appendix 4: Summary of Key Themes in News Sources Consulted 282 Appendix 5: Interview Guide 283 Appendix 6: Consent Form 285 6 List of Figures Figure 1: Map of ‘xenophobic’ incidents in Gauteng Province .................................................................. 17 Figure 2: The constituent settlements of Mshongo in Atteridgeville, Tshwane ........................................ 48 Figure 3: Images from Jeffsville .................................................................................................................. 49 Figure 4: Images from Brazzaville............................................................................................................... 49 Figure 5: Mixed methods mapped onto time, scale and distance from respondent ................................. 59 Figure 6: Present-day Atteridgeville in the province of Gauteng, South Africa ....................................... 126 Figure 7: Atteridgeville in the Transvaal province, in relation to the province's 'homelands' ................. 128 Figure 8: Sites of land invasion in Atteridgeville ...................................................................................... 138 Figure 9: Shack marking in Mshongo ....................................................................................................... 176 Figure 10: Tenure insecure brick dwellings in Mshongo .........................................................................