Crime, community and the governance of violence in post-apartheid South Africa

SOURCE: Politikon
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2008
TITLE AUTHOR(S): S.Pillay
KEYWORDS: CRIME AND SECURITY, GOVERNANCE, POST APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA, VIOLENCE
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 5492
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/5199
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/5199

If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.

Abstract

The South African government has embarked on a programme of encouraging social cohesion in South Africa first to address concerns stemming from high levels of violent crime which characterise the society, and second, to foster positive national identity in a complex, heterogeneous, racialised and stratified nation. Through a discussion of the impact of violent crime on emergent forms of community, this paper argues that the practices of communities evolving in the post-apartheid period show tendencies toward fragmentation rather than unification, undermining efforts of 'nation-building'.