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Accepted Paper:
Understanding Xenophobia in South Africa: A critical analysis of drivers and responses
Abdul-Wasi Moshood
(Lagos State University)
Several obstacles have hindered the pan African drive, the colonial legacy cannot be forgot in a hurry. In recent times, Africans through hatred for fellow Africans have constituted the latest threat to pan-Africanism. The paper unearths the extent xenophobia is impacting negatively on Africa.
Paper long abstract:
While proponents of globalisation argue that the world is shrinking in a number of ways, the tensions created by migration are again challenging the movement of people and intergroup contacts in many places. In the case of Africa, while the history of pan-Africanism is long and continues to struggle for relevance in contemporary Africa, there are increasing episodes to suggest the rise (or re-emergence) of nationalism that repudiates pan-Africanism. It is in this context that this paper interrogates the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa and to some extent tensions in Ghana. It engages the questions: What are the factors responsible for this xenophobic attack in South Africa? How has African countries (and people) responded to this nationalism? How potent is this xenophobia to reducing pan-Africanism? Using qualitative method of analysis, the paper unpacks the implications of periodic xenophobic attacks in South Africa against fellow Africans, and unearths responses to it and its effects on Africa’s pan-African drive.
Keywords: Xenophobia, Pan-Africanism, Africa, and South Africa.