Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the development of a new subculture of poverty among the poor Afrikaners, who tend to settle in predominantly white informal settlements, and whose modes of survival differ from the ones known in the African or Coloured townships and informal settlements.

Paper long abstract:

Since 1994 poor Afrikaners are constantly being described as a "new" phenomenon in South Africa. Partly it can be explained by the media-driven thirst for novelty combined with the still present stereotype that South African whites cannot be poor, partly - by the still ambiguous state of this growing group.

White poverty always existed in South Africa and was associated mainly with the Afrikaner community, but the causes and the nature of white poverty under apartheid and in new South Africa seem to be rather different.

Today a new subculture of poverty is being developed among Afrikaners, who tend to settle in predominantly white informal settlements and whose modes of survival differ from the ones employed in the African townships and informal settlements.

The paper is based on the field studies conducted in Gauteng and Western Cape provinces in 2011 and 2013, including in-depth family history interviews with the Afrikaners living in informal settlements. Based on microhistory approach, the paper analyzes the causes of poverty and the modes of survival of the poor Afrikaners and compares them to such of their African and Coloured counterparts.

The paper describes the causes of formation, structure and everyday functioning of the poor Afrikaner communities and attempts to measure the level of support by the state and non-governmental organisations in sustaining of these communities.

The paper also describes the broader psychological implications of the status of the poor and its impact on self-understanding of the poor Afrikaners in contemporary South Africa.