Publications

Publication details [#67128]

Durrheim, Kevin, Philippa Kerr and John Dixon. 2019. Xenophobic Violence and Struggle Discourse in South Africa. Journal of Asian and African Studies 54 (7) : 995–1011.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
SAGE Publications

Annotation

This article argues that xenophobia in South Africa is entangled in discourses of liberation struggle, which are often used to justify anti-foreigner violence. It explores some existing academic explanations for xenophobia, namely internalised racism, poverty/inequality, nationalism, and township and informal settlement politics. It also explores three cases where xenophobic violence was actively discouraged by invoking an inclusive rather than divisive form of struggle discourse.