Reordering Society

Vigilantism and Expressions of Sovereignty in Port Elizabeth's Townships

Bibliographic Data

ID4771314
AuthorsL Buur (0000-0001-8069-7140, Danish Institute for International Studies, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume37
Issue4
Pages735-757
Publication date2006-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopment and Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-155X • E-ISSN: 1467-7660
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00499.x
OpenAlexW2050989318
LanguageEN
Citations received42
References cited15

Crime and vigilantism in South Africa are generally seen as a reaction to the breakdown of formal law. Both are constituted outside the state and emerge when the new social contract has been broken — that is, when the state can no longer provide security. This article argues that there is often an intimate relationship between vigilante formations and state structures. It explores this apparent paradox through public discourses on crime and the emergence of twilight institutions such as vigilante groups. It suggests that vigilantism has to be analysed as an attempt to promulgate a new legal-political order, despite being constructed outside this order. This argument is explored in the context of the Amadlozi, a vigilante group operating in the townships of Port Elizabeth. The article situates this discussion within an examination of discourses on crime, as well as the production of township residents and their protection from crime. Finally, it proffers some ideas on sovereignty and its relationship to twilight institutions

Archaeology · Argument (complex analysis) · Context (archaeology) · Criminology · Economics · Order (exchange) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Port (circuit theory) · Punishment (psychology) · Sociology · Sovereignty · State (computer science) · Twilight · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Engineering · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Social Psychology · South African History and Culture