An Empirical-Causative Analysis of the Politics of Xenophobia in South Africa

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Published Nov 1, 2021
DOI https://doi.org/10.15294/lrrq.v7i4.48055

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Olawale Olufemi Akinrinde
Osun State University, Osogbo
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7350-2376
Usman Tar
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8471-1034

Abstract

Several scholarly and scientific attentions have indeed been geared towards the studies on xenophobia in South Africa, but little and very limited interrogation have been devoted to its precipitating politics. Extant works and studies on xenophobia in South Africa, in addition to their differing perspectives, have focused more on how to address the xenophobic reality rather than trying to understand why the politics of xenophobia has persisted unabatedly despite several remedial interventions from government and key stakeholders. This study bridges the gap by attempting to, very importantly, understand and advance reasons as to why the politics has continued against all efforts geared towards addressing it. While Brown Harry’s scapegoating thesis, Pillay’s relative deprivation of South African blacks and Crush’s cultural explanation amongst many others have attempted to offer empirical views on the manifestation of xenophobia in South Africa, that which is central to the understanding of the xenophobic phenomenon was innocently overlooked. The study therefore sees “politics” has been central to any attempt to understanding the manifestation of xenophobia in South Africa. The overwhelming scientific discourses and perspectives offered by this study on the politics of xenophobia would therefore help in bridging the gap in the extant literature and the body of knowledge.

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How to Cite
Akinrinde, O. O., & Tar, U. (2021). An Empirical-Causative Analysis of the Politics of Xenophobia in South Africa. Law Research Review Quarterly, 7(4), 383-402. https://doi.org/10.15294/lrrq.v7i4.48055
Issue
Vol 7 No 4 (2021): L. Research Rev. Q. (November 2021) "The Intersection of Law and Politics in Various Legal Issues"
Section
RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Author Biographies

Olawale Olufemi Akinrinde, Osun State University, Osogbo

Olawale Olufemi Akinrinde is Lecturer II in the Department of Political Science at Osun State University, Nigeria, where he lectures and undertakes research in International Relations, Defence, Security and Strategic Studies. Olawale holds an outstanding Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria, and a First Class Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Relations from Osun State University, Nigeria. Presently at the final stages of his Doctorate Degree in Defence and Strategic Studies, Nigeria Defence Academy Kaduna, Nigeria, Olawale’s works have appeared in Annals of Spiru Haret University Economic Series, Young African Leaders Journal of Development, Annals of the Costantin Brâncuși University of Târgu Jiu Letters and Social Science Series, Carnelian Journal of Law and Politics, and The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies and Development.

Usman Tar, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna

Professor Usman Tar is the Endowed Chair of Defence and Security Studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria. Professor Tar, aside being an Endowed Chair, is also the Director of the Center for Military Research and Documentation at Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria. With over a hundred of peer-reviewed and empirical publications, some of Professor Tar’s works include: Palgrave Handbook of Small Arms and Conflicts in Africa. Edited by Usman A Tar and Charles P Onwurah, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021 (ISBN: 978-3-030-62182-7), Routledge Handbook of Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in Africa. Edited by Usman A Tar, London, New York: Routledge Publishers, 2021 (ISBN 9781138575394), New Architecture for Regional Security in Africa: Perspectives on Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in the Lake Basin. Edited by Usman A Tar and Bashir Bala. Lanham MD: Lexington Books, 2020.

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