The practice and rhetoric of deportation in South Africa

Abstract

This research analyses the link between the practice and rhetoric of deportation and the South African state’s understanding of state sovereignty. Through this inquiry, I argue that although state agents often portray the political rationale for deportation and exclusion, economic interests equally form a crucial part in the practice of deportation policy in South Africa. The prominence of private economic interests reveals that the imperative to embrace the population or exercise exclusive political jurisdiction over state territory may be less influential than state officials assert when describing and justifying deportation. These findings have implications for how we think about the increasing dependence on deportation by states throughout the world. Keywords: Deportation, rhetoric, practice, policy, immigration, state, nation, sovereignty, politics, economics