South Africa as an Immigration State

Abstract

A dramatic outburst of xenophobic violence in May 2008 spotlighted South Africa's place among countries of immigration. While a plethora of policy studies have examined many micro-level dynamics in these attacks, surprisingly little attention has been paid to underlying political causes. By applying the comparative ‘immigration state’ literature, I offer a counter-intuitive, two-part explanation for the complex and often contradictory mix of South African migration policies. First, the historical absence of a ‘rights-markets’ coalition allows for the persistence of exclusionary and protectionist legislation. Second, post-apartheid international commitments to ‘rights-markets’ norms have contributed to significant reforms, especially regarding refugees, but these pressures have not fully counter-balanced the predominant exclusionary and protectionist coalition. Democratization in the absence of a liberal ‘rights-markets’ coalition, I conclude, has reinforced xenophobia and will continue to produce only incremental policy reforms.

Notes

This generic domestic politics framework avoids privileging either Liberal or Marxist arguments. As O'Meara (1996) and Lipton (2007) both note, vociferous political and personal agendas have overshadowed the substantial similarities in the application of these approaches, not least the persistence of cross-class divisions and the historically shifting autonomy of the state.

Since I see significant room for agency within structural constraints, I prefer a probabilistic view of causality (see Little 1990).

I draw on media coverage of the 2003 regulations controversy compiled by the Southern African Migration Program, www.queensu.ca/samp/ImmigrationBillComments/Regulations/ImmReg.htm, accessed 28 September 2009.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Audie Klotz

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University