Julius Malema, Xenophobia, And Frantz Fanon

James Myburgh and Frans Cronje unpack Julius Malema’s contradictory view of xenophobic violence, arguing that his racial-nationalist politics may help fuel the very hostility he condemns.

9 min

In this clip James Myburgh and Frans Cronje break down Julius Malema's analysis of the rise in xenophobic violence in South Africa. James explains that Malema was giving the speech at a recent EFF dinner. The two parts James highlights display the paradox at the heart of Malema's view of xenophobia. On the one hand Malema berates South Africans for committing violence against fellow Africans with no clear benefit for South Africans, but, on the other hand, Malema then goes on to suggest that the angst currently directed against foreigners in South Africa may be better spent on the white minority in the country. James then uses Frantz Fanon's ideas to explain how Malema's racial-nationalist agitation actually leads to more xenophobic violence, because the black nationalist view of South Africa pits the black political elites against the white business elites. However, there is not the same class competition between poorer black Africans and the white bourgeoise which means that poorer South Africans rather view poorer black foreigners as their enemy.

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