3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Migration, governance and violent exclusion: exploring the determinants of xenophobic violence in post-apartheid South Africa(2016) Misago, Jean PierreResponding to inadequacies and limitations of current causal explanations for xenophobic violence which has become a long standing feature in post-Apartheid South Africa, this study proposes a Governance Model of Xenophobic Violence that provides a comprehensive empirically-based and theoretically informed causal explanation. It is a multivariate empirical and integrated theoretical explanatory model that identifies and explains the roles of - and the complex interplays between - the key determinants of xenophobic violence consisting of underlying causes, proximate factors and triggers. The six key determinants the model identifies are: deprivation, xenophobic beliefs, collective discontent, political economy, mobilization and governance. This study argues that these determinants and their interconnections in a value-added process constitute the necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of xenophobic violence. I call it the governance model because of the predominant role governance plays in the occurrence of xenophobic violence. With underlying causes (deprivation, xenophobia and collective discontent) already established, the study pays particular attention to the often missed proximate factors and triggers (the political economy of the violence, mobilization and governance). It is through the findings on these new factors that the study introduces new empirical and theoretical insights and innovations to the understanding of, not only, xenophobic violence in South Africa but also collective violence generally. First, this study argues that xenophobic violence in South Africa is just ‘politics by other means and by doing so brings to the fore the often missed centrality of micro-politics and localised political economy factors as key drivers of collective violence particularly communal violence. Second, the study argues that that the triggers of xenophobic violence and of collective violence generally lie in the mobilization processes and not in the grievances and ensuing discontent as argued by many theoretical approaches to collective violence. The study suggests a new theoretical model, the Mobilization of Discontent Model, which captures the increasingly recognised centrality of mobilization as a trigger of collective violence. Third, the study argues that governance is a key determinant of xenophobic and collective violence but not necessary in ways often assumed or prescribed by time-honoured and widely accepted theoretical predictions, particularly those contending that collective violence and other forms of contentious collective action tend to occur in societies where mechanisms of social control have lost their restraining power. By demonstrating that local governance deliberately facilitated the occurrence of xenophobic violence in areas where it occurred by providing what I term micro-political opportunity structures, the study calls into question the common understating of the relationship between governance and collective violence and reveals some aspects of this relationship that are either misunderstood or undetected until now. The Governance Model of Xenophobic Violence this study proposes is an innovation that clearly illustrates the poverty of most explanatory models of collective violence, which makes it an appropriate tool for integrating empirical and theoretical knowledge from different disciplines and for identifying gaps in existing scholarship.Item Narratives of Zimbabwean children and parents: language brokering in Johannesburg(2016) Katsere, Ivan Munashe LeighChildren often serve daily as language brokers for migrant families in the foreign context of host countries (Morales & Hanson, 2005). Although this is a reality for migrant families around the world, the phenomenon and migrant children continue to be invisible in research (Orellana, 2009). Dehumanization and subtle, daily xenophobic attitudes in the complex linguistic landscape of multilingual South Africa have created the need for children to interpret for parents and other family members even where the common lingua franca of English is shared and is the recognised official medium of communication. The perceived superiority of English and the arrogant dominance of English speakers (Achebe, 2006) have been associated with the new elite of black South Africans who speak fluent English and by extension, black migrant English speakers are similarly perceived as asserting dominance through their dependence on English. Analysing narratives of migrant families, this research project yields that the continual resistance to the English language and other non-South African vernaculars is interlinked with and seems to perpetuate xenophobic attitudes and dehumanization. The anxiety for adult migrants who do not speak local languages is often dealt with by child language brokers who mediate for their parents and other migrants in multiple spaces including informal (e.g. taxis, streets, shops etc.) to more formal spaces such as hospitals and schools. Playing this role suggests adult responsibility for the child, with a possible impact on family dynamics and relations. Although negative feelings of embarrassment are often experienced by parents, these were outweighed by a sense of pride for children being able to help their families, and the sense of security the family feels because of the children’s linguistic capabilities. Traditional family dynamics and roles do not seem to be significantly altered or negatively impacted by children taking on unconventionally ‘adult roles’. Having acculturated faster, understanding the language rules, politics and consequences of not speaking local languages, this research suggests that brokers function for the benefit of the family and use their skills to reduce anxiety related to xenophobic attitudes and dehumanization against parents and peers particularly when moving between spaces, for example, between home and school or work.Item A narrative exploration of migrants to South Africa and how they navigate the changing immigration landscape(2016) Read, Brigitte RenateEconomic migrants to South Africa face a hostile reception; periodic displays of widespread xenophobia have highlighted the myths and stereotypes that still abound about foreigners - that they are job-stealers, criminals and a threat to our nation’s well-being. The Department of Home Affairs recently brought in new immigration laws that raise the barriers to entry and participation in the South African economy and society. Yet a back door has been left wide open for economic migrants, often unskilled and with no other options, to enter South Africa, live and work. For six consecutive years South Africa was the number one destination for asylum seekers globally and the influx has caused the refugee determination process to become clogged and corrupt, leaving genuine refugees vulnerable and hundreds of thousands of foreigners in an unhappy limbo. The accompanying narrative long form journalism piece highlights some of the fault lines in the government’s uncoordinated and inconsistent migration policy. Overall the project seeks to personalize some of the key challenges and contentious issues faced by migrants to South Africa. It aims to puts a human face to a bureaucratic process by accessing the stories of marginalized migrants, giving them a voice to articulate their experiences in South Africa. The accompanying method document outlines some of the academic research underpinning the study.