Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa

<p class="first" id="d71838e71">The present article fleshes out the observation that in actuality what is circulated in journalistic and scholarly literature as xenophobia in South Africa is systemic and structural racism that is rooted in colonial a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: William Mpofu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pluto Journals 2020-11-01
Series:International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies
Online Access:https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/intecritdivestud.3.2.0033
_version_ 1797834031543353344
author William Mpofu
author_facet William Mpofu
author_sort William Mpofu
collection DOAJ
description <p class="first" id="d71838e71">The present article fleshes out the observation that in actuality what is circulated in journalistic and scholarly literature as xenophobia in South Africa is systemic and structural racism that is rooted in colonial and apartheid history. As such the term xenophobia, as it denotes the fear and also hatred of foreign others by native nationals of South Africa, tends to conceal rather than reveal that systemic and structural constructs of racism at a world and local scale produce and locate black Africans of other countries in South Africa as alien and foreign others that are in the receiving end of nationalist and ultimately racist passions of hatred and violence. In a country that has not fully recovered from the homeland racist nationalism that placed black natives of South Africa according to geographic and ethnic lines, the black Africans from other countries take the place of racialized and excluded outsiders who become candidates for hatred, discrimination, and violation. In this way what is termed xenophobia is actually racism and the coloniality of being and belonging that accompanies it. This article, therefore, provides a decolonial understanding and interpretation of xenophobia as racism in South Africa. </p>
first_indexed 2024-04-09T14:32:09Z
format Article
id doaj.art-fffe55dfd00c40bebf98a6e512f549c9
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2516-550X
2516-5518
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-09T14:32:09Z
publishDate 2020-11-01
publisher Pluto Journals
record_format Article
series International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies
spelling doaj.art-fffe55dfd00c40bebf98a6e512f549c92023-05-03T15:35:22ZengPluto JournalsInternational Journal of Critical Diversity Studies2516-550X2516-55182020-11-0132335210.13169/intecritdivestud.3.2.0033Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South AfricaWilliam Mpofu<p class="first" id="d71838e71">The present article fleshes out the observation that in actuality what is circulated in journalistic and scholarly literature as xenophobia in South Africa is systemic and structural racism that is rooted in colonial and apartheid history. As such the term xenophobia, as it denotes the fear and also hatred of foreign others by native nationals of South Africa, tends to conceal rather than reveal that systemic and structural constructs of racism at a world and local scale produce and locate black Africans of other countries in South Africa as alien and foreign others that are in the receiving end of nationalist and ultimately racist passions of hatred and violence. In a country that has not fully recovered from the homeland racist nationalism that placed black natives of South Africa according to geographic and ethnic lines, the black Africans from other countries take the place of racialized and excluded outsiders who become candidates for hatred, discrimination, and violation. In this way what is termed xenophobia is actually racism and the coloniality of being and belonging that accompanies it. This article, therefore, provides a decolonial understanding and interpretation of xenophobia as racism in South Africa. </p>https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/intecritdivestud.3.2.0033
spellingShingle William Mpofu
Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies
title Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
title_full Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
title_fullStr Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
title_short Xenophobia as Racism: The Colonial Underside of Nationalism in South Africa
title_sort xenophobia as racism the colonial underside of nationalism in south africa
url https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/intecritdivestud.3.2.0033
work_keys_str_mv AT williammpofu xenophobiaasracismthecolonialundersideofnationalisminsouthafrica