Navigating Nationality: Exploring the Role and Uses of National Self-Description for Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9783658438494)

In recounting their migration journey, references to nationality pervade the narratives of Zimbabweans in South Africa. Given the challenges many migrants confront based on their nationality, this presents a seeming paradox. This qualitative interview study, conducted with Zimbabwean migrants in two areas of Cape Town--Observatory and Dunoon--aims to elucidate the nuances of national self-descriptions in a demanding environment. Identifying as Zimbabwean serves as a sanctuary and a retreat, where alternative identifications often prove transient; embracing Zimbabweanness fosters an affirmative and positive self-perception, surpassing the limitations of other collective self-descriptions. Rather than pre-emptively characterizing a nationalist demeanour, the articulation of national self-description emerges as a strategic tool to navigate experiences of hostility and discrimination, while also asserting legitimate claims to equal opportunities. In this way, nationality takes a trajectory that diverges from conventional notions of nationality (and the ones of the nation-state or citizenship) as per Northern theory, contributing to alternative conceptualizations within the framework of the Global South.

Author: Johannes Kögel
ISBN-10: 3658438495
ISBN-13: 9783658438494
Publisher: Springer vs
Language: English
Published: 01/19/2024
Pages: 444
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.33lbs
Size: 8.27h x 5.83w x 1.03d