The 'cabbage and the goat': xenophobic violence in South Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	The 'cabbage and the goat': xenophobic violence in South Africa
Author:	Reddy, Thiven
Year:	2012
Periodical:	African historical review (ISSN 1753-2531)
Volume:	44
Issue:	1
Pages:	3-28
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	xenophobia citizenship violence
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17532523.2012.714158
Abstract:	The paper offers a way to think through the advent of xenophobia as a feature of post 1994 South African democracy, making use of Fanon's theoretical propositions. It does so by locating xenophobic violence within a broader politics of a mobilized citizenry in which a ruling class has been unable to assert its hegemony. In this context of opposing wills, the very terms of reference of citizenship are contested, the elite in the society operate within an idiom of rights, and the mass of poor, radical resource distribution and recognition. The ambivalent position of the ANC as liberation movement, key actor in the founding of the new constitutionalism, and political party engaged in competitive electoral politics adds to the social unease. The resultant fragile ruling ideology has allowed local discourses to thrive based on degrees of authentic belonging. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]