{"title":"The Corona Virus and Migration Governance in South Africa: Business As Usual?","authors":"F. Zanker, Khangelani Moyo","doi":"10.1177/0002039720925826","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The South African response in dealing with the Corona pandemic needs to speak to the realities of all people living in the country, including migrant and refugee communities. Reflecting on this in light of ongoing research on the political stakes of migration governance, we find that the virus response shows little change in the government agenda when it comes to dealing with refugees and other migrants. Veritably, we see that the pandemic may even be an excuse for pushing through already-aspired to policies. This includes the securitised agenda behind the sudden building of a border fence to close off Zimbabwe and the xenophobic-rhetorical clout behind the lockdown rules about which shops are allowed to remain open. The temporary stay on renewing asylum seekers permits counts as a perfunctory exception. We show that each of these developments very much play into politics as usual.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"55 1","pages":"100 - 112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0002039720925826","citationCount":"23","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Africa Spectrum","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0002039720925826","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AREA STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 23
Abstract
The South African response in dealing with the Corona pandemic needs to speak to the realities of all people living in the country, including migrant and refugee communities. Reflecting on this in light of ongoing research on the political stakes of migration governance, we find that the virus response shows little change in the government agenda when it comes to dealing with refugees and other migrants. Veritably, we see that the pandemic may even be an excuse for pushing through already-aspired to policies. This includes the securitised agenda behind the sudden building of a border fence to close off Zimbabwe and the xenophobic-rhetorical clout behind the lockdown rules about which shops are allowed to remain open. The temporary stay on renewing asylum seekers permits counts as a perfunctory exception. We show that each of these developments very much play into politics as usual.
期刊介绍:
Africa Spectrum is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal published since 1966 by the GIGA Institute of African Affairs (IAA) in Hamburg. It is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to scientific exchange between the continents. It focuses on socially relevant issues related to political, economic, and sociocultural problems and events in Africa, as well as on Africa''s role within the international system. There are no article processing charges payable to publish in Africa Spectrum. For more than five decades, Africa Spectrum has provided in-depth analyses of current issues in political, social, and economic life; culture; and development in sub-Saharan Africa, including historical studies that illuminate current events on the continent. Africa Spectrum is the leading German academic journal exclusively devoted to this continent and is part of the GIGA Journal Family. The journal accepts Research Articles, Analyses and Reports as well as Book Reviews. It also publishes special issues devoted to particular subjects.