Xenophobia Trivialises South Africa’s Ambitious Africa Policy

The policy brief examines how domestic xenophobia contradicts South Africa's 'diplomacy of ubuntu' and its aspirations for African leadership. It highlights specific incidents of violence and government failures, suggesting that South Africa must address the root causes of intolerance domestically and regionalise its policy responses to reclaim its international standing.

• Xenophobia is described as a "near-permanent feature" of South Africa's domestic political economy, which actively erodes the country's ability to lead the African continent and makes its foreign policy concept of ubuntu appear "hollow".
• The document identifies a contradiction between South Africa's external human rights agenda and domestic reality, citing 2014 Amnesty International reports of displacement of over 1,600 people across seven provinces, as well as violence in Durban, Grahamstown, Soweto, and Katlehong in 2015 and 2016.
• The South African government's responses to xenophobia are characterised as "deficient" and "meek", with some actions like 'Operation Fiela' being viewed as "kneejerk and poorly calibrated" responses that may reinforce perceptions of structural xenophobia.
• The author argues that the government often prioritises the condemnation of racism over xenophobia because the latter is "less appealing for domestic constituencies" during local government election years, despite its negative impact on South Africa's African leadership image.
• To restore its credibility, the document recommends that South Africa lead international efforts by calling for a "Durban IV Summit against Racism" and regionalising the objectives of its 2016–2021 National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance through the AU and SADC.

APA

Hengari, A. T. (2016). Xenophobia Trivialises South Africa’s Ambitious Africa Policy. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Policy-Briefing-150.pdf

Chicago

Hengari, Alfredo Tjiurimo. Xenophobia Trivialises South Africa’s Ambitious Africa Policy. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Policy-Briefing-150.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hengari |first1=Alfredo Tjiurimo |title=Xenophobia Trivialises South Africa’s Ambitious Africa Policy |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Policy-Briefing-150.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hengari2016xenophobia, author = {Hengari, Alfredo Tjiurimo}, title = {{Xenophobia Trivialises South Africa’s Ambitious Africa Policy}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Policy-Briefing-150.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }