Between Recognition and Resentment: An Afrikaner Trade Union's Brand of Post-Nationalism

Abstract

What comes after Afrikaner nationalism? This article presents a detailed analysis of the discourse of the mainly white Afrikaner trade union Solidarity to explore Afrikaner identity politics after apartheid. Solidarity has claimed a remarkably prominent position in the post-apartheid debates about Afrikaner identity, race and class. The trade union's success, I argue, should be explained within the context of the neoliberal elite transition and the uneven impact of the African National Congress (ANC)'s policies of racial redress. Both developments affect particularly the lower middle class of Afrikaners. My analysis exposes subtle shifts in Solidarity's rhetoric after 1994: away from the language of Afrikaner nationalism and white supremacy, and towards a new discourse organised around the tropes of ‘rights’ and ‘belonging’. This discourse has given new legitimacy to Solidarity in the post-apartheid political landscape; while simultaneously repositioning Afrikaners as a victimised, threatened and no-longer-privileged minority. However, a tension in Solidarity's discourse between this new politics of recognition and their politics of resentment remains. I explain this tension through the distorting effects of shame dynamics.

Keywords:

• Afrikaners
• trade unions
• race
• white
• emotions
• nationalism
• Solidarity

Acknowledgements

My thinking on Solidarity and the arguments presented in this article have benefitted from the expert comments of Jan Willem Duyvendak, Nathalie Le Du, Jim Jasper, Thomas Blaser, Christi van der Westhuizen, Kees van der Waal, Tom Devriendt, Wessel Visser, Danelle van Zyl-Hermann, the participants of the 2010 workshop on Afrikaners after Apartheid at the University of Stellenbosch, and two anonymous referees. Also, I want to thank the people at Solidarity, particularly Flip Buys, Dirk Hermann, and Paul Joubert whose help during my fieldwork made the research experience not only educational, but also enjoyable. Although they do not have to agree with my analysis, I hope they find the presentation of their views in this article fair and accurate.

Notes

That being said, inequality between groups is still very high; almost half of black South Africans still live below the poverty line, surviving on just over R500 a month. Whites, as a racial group, profited from strong growth in income and held low unemployment when compared with the other racial groups (Bhorat 2004; Leibbrandt et al 2010).

I use the term identity entrepreneur to denote an individual or group of individuals who find it desirable or profitable to create or reinforce group identities (Thomas, Kiser and Casebeer 2005).

Personal interview, June 2008.

Political parties affiliated with Solidarity, like the Freedom Front Plus, have even participated in international conferences and demanded that Afrikaners are included in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

Personal interview, July 2008.

Personal interview, June 2008.

Personal interview, July 2008.

Personal interview, August 2008.

Personal interview, June 2008.

Meeting notes, June 2008.