Debate on Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and Structural Racism in South African Higher Education
Pressures on foreign academics in South African higher education institutions are being evaluated not merely as ordinary xenophobia, but as structural racism operating through concepts of borders.
Increasing political interventions and exclusionary rhetoric targeting higher education institutions in South Africa have triggered the targeting of foreign academics, a situation noted to be a reflection of structural racism rather than mere xenophobia.
Checks in Soweto and Historical Background
The actions of Operation Dudula members checking IDs in front of a clinic in Soweto brought to mind the exclusionary practices of the apartheid era. Such practices stand out as part of border policies that determine who belongs and who does not in society.
Rising Political Pressures in Higher Education
Parliamentary interventions warn universities not to prioritize foreign national employees while demanding clearer data regarding the status of foreign academics. This process merges a legitimate transformation agenda with a broad anti-immigrant current.
Xenophobia or Structural Racism
Explaining the events solely as xenophobia or afrophobia remains inadequate, as what is being experienced points to an institutional structure where Black immigrants are framed as a national threat. This situation, reproduced through border and citizenship discourses, is defined as structural racism.
The Relationship Between Borders and Belonging
Gloria Wekker's concept of the cultural archive and Nira Yuval-Davis's politics of belonging demonstrate how colonial heritage persists in today's institutions. Documents such as passports and identity cards transform into tools that determine participation in social life.
Demographic Realities and University Policies
Although census data shows international immigrants make up a small portion of the country's population, foreign academics are targeted as a single suspicious group. The primary problem for universities is seen not as immigrants, but as deficiencies in building fair and secure pathways for local academics.