Crime, conflict and politics in transition-era South Africa

Abstract

Despite the potentially catastrophic repercussions of South Africa's violent crime epidemic, little progress has been made in understanding why violence has persisted and even escalated since the end of apartheid in 1994. Adopting an historical approach that highlights the persistence of urban violence throughout the twentieth century, this article focuses on the criminal dimensions of the 'political' conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s. The advent of democracy was not in itself sufficient to erase a deeply entrenched culture of violence produced by decades of repressive racial policing, violent crime and social conflict. Moreover, politicized hostilities and the continuing deterioration of law and order structures in the final years of apartheid gave birth to various groups that engaged in criminal violence and provided favourable conditions for well established criminal networks. Such elements were unlikely to put down their guns and relinquish power simply because politicians declared the fighting to be over. Situating transition-era violence within its historic context and broadening the narrow conception of 'political' conflict enable us to better understand both this fractious period and the violence that continues to afflict South Africa. FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, SOUTH AFRICA HAS AVERAGED more than 20,000 murders and 50,000 reported rapes and attempted rapes annually.' The repercussions of this violent crime epidemic are potentially catastrophic, yet little progress has been made in understanding why violence has persisted and even escalated since the end of apartheid in 1994. Popular explanations typically concentrate on the immediate environment, including poverty and joblessness, a new criminal-friendly constitution, a corrupt and ineffective national police force and the post-apartheid influx of African migrants.2 To the extent that history is considered, the roots of lawlessness and violent crime are often traced back to the 'political' violence of the The author is at Dalhousie University, Canada: gkynoch@dal.ca 1. www.saps.gov.za. 2. In an ongoing study of the impact of crime and violence in Gauteng townships, residents have consistently listed these factors as the most important contributors to high crime rates in the post-apartheid period. Elements within the media often echo these same sentiments. For an indication of township residents' views of crime and policing, see Gary Kynoch, 'Apartheid nostalgia: personal security concerns in South African townships', SA Crime Quarterly, 5 September (2003), pp. 7-10.