Political Subjectivities in Post-colonial States: Identity and Belonging Among Botswana’s non–Tswana Migrant Descendants

Abstract

This thesis explores the experiences of people with immigrant ancestry in Botswana. It considers how they position themselves in relation to political communities where indigeneity and ethnicity are the foundations of official national imaginaries and state practice. The thesis draws on various methodological approaches and interdisciplinary scholarship to address a gap in the literature on citizenship and state-building in postcolonial Africa. It is based on historical comparative research that combines two primary methodologies: a historiography of state formation and in-depth narrative interviews with research participants and key informants. The thesis finds that people with migrant backgrounds in Botswana embody a politics of ambivalent citizenship, characterised by their mixed feelings towards the Botswana nation-state and its citizenship. This is visible in their ambiguity and use of various tactics and strategies – conscious and unconscious – to navigate their ambivalence and assert their identities and belonging. This ambivalence is further enunciated in their multiple, hyphenated identities and their diverse, multi-sited forms of belonging. The politics of ambivalent citizenship described here, challenges traditional nationalistic notions and highlights the complexity of people with a migrant background’s engagement with the state. In surfacing the experiences of non-citizens and citizens with a migrant background, the study also reveals how such seemingly marginal groups actively shape their citizenship experiences and challenge dominant hegemonic narratives through their agential practices. This work contributes to postcolonial and citizenship studies through its nuanced perspectives on belonging shaped by generation and geography. Moreover, it challenges conventional citizenship views framed on civil and social rights, active political participation and identity. It does so by building on studies that have explored unconventional forms of citizenship such as citizenship from below and acts of citizenship. This body of work further highlights the tactical and strategic actions of what scholarship considers as “marginalised” groups and demonstrates how they react to this marginality by offering a fresh lens to discuss migrant struggles without reinforcing problematic stereotypes. In its exploration of life in the margins, the study shows that sites often portrayed as oppressive or exclusionary, are potential sites where agency and creativity can be expressed as acts of citizenship. Moreover, the study reveals that despite facing some structural challenges, people with migrant backgrounds continuously influence decisions and contribute to shaping and re-shaping the postcolonial state through their ambivalence which is expressed in their agency and ambiguity. This research ultimately contributes to African scholarship examining the tensions within postcolonial nation-states as they construct a national “political community” amidst diverse ethnic loyalties. It enhances discussions on citizenship by integrating postcolonial nation-building and migrants' discourses and thus offering a nuanced understanding of their intersection. In so doing, the thesis further challenges the conventional understanding of citizenship to provide nuanced insights into tactical citizenship and the agency of migrant descendants in influencing state practices and discourses on identity and belonging in postcolonial states.