When Fear Becomes Policy: Xenophobia, Stilfontein and the Politics of Division in South Africa
Yesterday, government ministers gathered before the country in yet another carefully managed press conference. Meeting as a security and governance cluster, they attempted to reassure the public that the state does not support violence against foreign nationals and that government merely seeks to ensure peaceful protest, lawful conduct and public order. But the problem facing South Africa today is not simply whether government formally condemns violence. The deeper problem is that many of the same political actors now expressing concern helped create the political atmosphere that made this moment possible. For years, political leaders across the spectrum have increasingly relied on the language of fear, invasion, illegality and criminality when speaking about migrants, informal workers and poor Black Africans. Public frustration over unemployment, collapsing municipalities, crime and economic decline has repeatedly been redirected toward vulnerable outsiders rather than t...