- Title
- The rise of populism in africa: the role of nativism in maintaining political power in South Africa and Zimbabwe
- Creator
- Chindoga , Melody
- Subject
- Nativism
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- PhD
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15760
- Identifier
- vital:40521
- Description
- ZANU-PF and ANC have been in power in their respective countries since the advent of democracy. However, the popularity of both the ANC and ZANU-PF has shifted from urban areas to rural areas, where their support bases are now concentrated (Clapham, 2012). Rural areas have benefitted the least from access to public resources and resource distribution yet despite this, they have provided the much needed support to both the ANC and ZANU-PF respectively. The politics of nativism has been used by the Zuma-led faction in the ANC and ZANUPF in maintaining political power in their respective domains in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Nativism has been identified as a form of populism that is used as a political strategy to gain and maintain political power. It arises from opposition to the mind-set of colonialism in the form of a ‘reverse discourse’ that seeks to undermine colonial ideas through the mobilisation of African culture and is reliant on cultivating opposition to a defined enemy. Therefore, the study seeks to investigate how the politics of nativism have been used by the Zuma-led faction in the ANC and by ZANUPF respectively to maintain power, by focusing particularly on their rural support bases. This study aligns itself with the broadly critical African perspective that is constituted by post-colonial theory and the accompanying oppositional canon of literature that is directly linked to the struggles against colonialism and oppression in former colonies, whilst also contesting contemporary representations of post-colonial societies emanating from those sources within which power resides. The study took the form of qualitative research, within which an interpretive approach was utilised to explore and to analyse the responses by inhabitants of two rural areas in South Africa and Zimbabwe to the nativist strategies and discourse constructed by the Zuma-led faction of the ANC and ZANU-PF respectively, contributing to the ongoing electoral support for these parties in rural areas. The research findings revealed that to maintain their popularity in rural areas, the nativist discourse of the Zuma-led faction of the ANC and ZANU-PF has exploited historical factors related to oppression and inhumane treatment by Whites. The research also established that nativist discourse was utilised in rural areas of South ii Africa and Zimbabwe with varying success. It resonated with the experiences of the older generation of White domination, whereas most of the younger generation could not relate to its heavy reliance on anti-White sentiment. Those under the age of 35, typically considered as the youth, did not identify with much of the discourse and were sceptical of its racist foundation, preferring instead change in political leadership in order for change to occur
- Format
- 304 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Political Science
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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