The “Butterfly Effects” That Emerged to Xenophobic Outbreaks in South Africa: Xenophobia, A Timeless Boom

• Published in: African Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies 2021-04, Vol.10 (1), p.101-122
• Main Authors: Hlobisile Khoza, Hlengiwe, Mashele, Respect, Munyaradzi Mukonza, Ricky
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African cultural groups; Cancer; Citizens; Discontent; Immigrants; Noncitizens; Qualitative research; Research methodology; Rhetoric; Structural analysis; Unemployment; Visitors; Xenophobia
• ISSN: 2634-3657; 2634-3665
• DOI: 10.31920/2634-3665/2021/v10n1a5

The aim of this article is to use the literature on the discourse of xenophobia to examine and expose how ―butterfly effects‖ and political rhetoric result in the emergence of xenophobic outbreaks specifically in the democratic South Africa. Xenophobic outbreaks in South Africa are often impossible to predict beforehand because violence arises in incidents unrelated to the structural conditions which breed discontent between local inhabitants and immigrants or visitors. This discontent does not obviously take the form of a 'tipping point' which signifies steadily rising tensions. However, it can flare at any time based on seemingly unrelated catalysts, and when it comes to identifying the 'causes‘ of xenophobia, there are often temptations to replace grounded structural analysis with symptom-searching. Most times, most South Africans tend to replace the core reasons that cause the xenophobic attacks by alleged unfounded reasons due to the fact that in each event of the outbreaks, different elements have been cited as being responsible for the xenophobic attacks in the country. The article argues that xenophobia is more complex than just the irrational fear of foreigners. It is, therefore, about the interplay of relationships between the state and its citizens; citizens and foreigners; and foreigners and the state. This article is non-empirical, and a qualitative research methodology was adopted. The article ascends in the form of a conceptual paper in which secondary data have been utilised solely in the form of newspaper articles, books and journal articles to provide a broad analysis on ―Butterfly Effects‖ which serves as a metaphor for what, in technical language, is called 'sensitive dependence on initial conditions‘ or 'deterministic chaos‘, the fact that ―small causes can have large effects‖. The article argues that it is not only the documented causes of xenophobic attacks such as unemployment and other reasons but failure of government to govern the country and integrate the immigrants into the culture and norms of the South African communities. Thus, such failure initiates xenophobic attitudes which results in local inhabitants engaging in xenophobic activities in order to fulfil their political, social and economic will. The article concludes that xenophobia could be likened to a cancer that will continue to spread in South Africa unless it is swiftly addressed by the government and the citizens collectively. As such, the article provides recomme