Pervasive, but not politicised: Everyday violence, local rule and party popularity in a Cape Town township
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Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Abstract
Through examining violence in the township of Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town, we show that leadership in this
community is not based on violence, despite its pervasiveness in the settlement. Further, rule by local leaders
and the state is often weak, and normally not violently enforced. This account challenges three common
views in the literature. The first is that, under conditions of weak rule, violence is primarily about contests over
political power. The use of violence by a variety of social actors in Imizamo Yethu, but rarely by political leaders
or parties, challenges this assumption. The second is that violence is central to maintaining local rule - but in
Imizamo Yethu leaders have seldom used coercion. Lastly, our case illustrates that effective local rule is not
necessarily a condition of party identification, which is rooted in larger dynamics of state patronage and race
politics that may even weaken local rule.
Description
Keywords
Cape Town, Violence, Leadership, Politics and power, Community, Township
Citation
Piper, L. and Wheeler, J. (2016). Pervasive, but not politicised: Everyday violence, local rule and party popularity in a Cape Town township. South African Crime Quarterly, 55: 31 - 40.