IT IS tiring to continually write against analysis that reduces political conflicts in Africa to black-on-black tribalism. In his classic 1971 text, "The Ideology of ‘Tribalism’", Archie Mafeje dealt with the intellectual stuntedness of the term, arguing that "few authors have been able to write on Africa without making constant reference to tribalism".
Thirty-three years later, in 2005, Binyavanga Wainaina wrote his satirical piece, "How to write about Africa", in which he says terms that come in handy "are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’."
A long intellectual road has been travelled in an attempt to expose the fixation with the concept of "tribalism".
Indeed, so handy is the concept that fellow columnist Anthony Butler, with not so much as even a hint of irony, identified in this space recently "three ethnic amaZulu" in top African National Congress (ANC) leadership positions. Native administrators and colonial anthropologists of yesteryear would be proud!
But then again, who can blame Butler? After all, the ANC itself constantly invokes the term, warning about "tribalism" as an internal threat to the organisation. The problem is that the ANC has been careless and glib about how it throws out this term. As such, the term floats about the political ether with little credible explanation of how tribalism is manifesting in post-apartheid politics except for the prejudice that where two or more Zulu or Xhosa speakers gather in the ANC, it must be in the name of tribalism.
This is not to deny that tribalism has been a destructive feature of African politics. However, it does us no favours to bandy the term about in a reactionary manner.
Let us tackle a few issues.
First, President Jacob Zuma, the man, is not a tribalist, he is a conservative traditionalist. If you understand the man’s politics, it is clear he identifies as black and African. Those who point to his popularity in KwaZulu-Natal as evidence of tribalism omit to explain why Zuma is popular across the country. We even have a street named after him in Grahamstown.
Zuma’s real tribe are social conservatives. He even appears to get along with evangelical leader Reverend Ray MacCauley, in spite of that little issue of polygamy. For that matter, former president Thabo Mbeki was also not a tribalist, in spite of the "Xhosa Nostra" accusations.
Mbeki was simply an intellectual elitist; let’s call his tribe "people who think of themselves as intelligent people".
Second, rising to national political power in the ANC today requires that one be legitimate with the rank and file across provinces. ANC leaders are hard campaigners who regularly travel across the country on ANC work, visiting branches, holding rallies and lobbying.
A true tribalist would struggle to gain credibility as ANC president.
Finally, the threat of "tribalism" is discernible not so much in the contest for national ANC seats, but from the way in which politics has provincialised in SA. I have previously written about how power is now best accumulated at the local and provincial levels, where it is easier to escape scrutiny while monopolising state resources.
The provincialisation of power is a defensive strategy to keep "outsiders" from getting in on local spoils.
Invariably, this means rigidly defining who belongs and who does not. This happens not only with "dominant" groups, but also those who mobilise claims of "ethnic minority" status as a means of legitimising powerful local cabals.
Neutralising potential "tribalism" is thus not so much about who gets to the top but who stays at the bottom. One remedy is to make policy that ensures provincial and local public servants reflect a national mix.
• Mkhize is a lecturer in history at Rhodes University
President Jacob Zuma. Picture: AFP PHOTO/IVAN SEKRETAREV
IT IS tiring to continually write against analysis that reduces political conflicts in Africa to black-on-black tribalism. In his classic 1971 text, "The Ideology of ‘Tribalism’", Archie Mafeje dealt with the intellectual stuntedness of the term, arguing that "few authors have been able to write on Africa without making constant reference to tribalism".
Thirty-three years later, in 2005, Binyavanga Wainaina wrote his satirical piece, "How to write about Africa", in which he says terms that come in handy "are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’."
A long intellectual road has been travelled in an attempt to expose the fixation with the concept of "tribalism".
Indeed, so handy is the concept that fellow columnist Anthony Butler, with not so much as even a hint of irony, identified in this space recently "three ethnic amaZulu" in top African National Congress (ANC) leadership positions. Native administrators and colonial anthropologists of yesteryear would be proud!
But then again, who can blame Butler? After all, the ANC itself constantly invokes the term, warning about "tribalism" as an internal threat to the organisation. The problem is that the ANC has been careless and glib about how it throws out this term. As such, the term floats about the political ether with little credible explanation of how tribalism is manifesting in post-apartheid politics except for the prejudice that where two or more Zulu or Xhosa speakers gather in the ANC, it must be in the name of tribalism.
This is not to deny that tribalism has been a destructive feature of African politics. However, it does us no favours to bandy the term about in a reactionary manner.
Let us tackle a few issues.
First, President Jacob Zuma, the man, is not a tribalist, he is a conservative traditionalist. If you understand the man’s politics, it is clear he identifies as black and African. Those who point to his popularity in KwaZulu-Natal as evidence of tribalism omit to explain why Zuma is popular across the country. We even have a street named after him in Grahamstown.
Zuma’s real tribe are social conservatives. He even appears to get along with evangelical leader Reverend Ray MacCauley, in spite of that little issue of polygamy. For that matter, former president Thabo Mbeki was also not a tribalist, in spite of the "Xhosa Nostra" accusations.
Mbeki was simply an intellectual elitist; let’s call his tribe "people who think of themselves as intelligent people".
Second, rising to national political power in the ANC today requires that one be legitimate with the rank and file across provinces. ANC leaders are hard campaigners who regularly travel across the country on ANC work, visiting branches, holding rallies and lobbying.
A true tribalist would struggle to gain credibility as ANC president.
Finally, the threat of "tribalism" is discernible not so much in the contest for national ANC seats, but from the way in which politics has provincialised in SA. I have previously written about how power is now best accumulated at the local and provincial levels, where it is easier to escape scrutiny while monopolising state resources.
The provincialisation of power is a defensive strategy to keep "outsiders" from getting in on local spoils.
Invariably, this means rigidly defining who belongs and who does not. This happens not only with "dominant" groups, but also those who mobilise claims of "ethnic minority" status as a means of legitimising powerful local cabals.
Neutralising potential "tribalism" is thus not so much about who gets to the top but who stays at the bottom. One remedy is to make policy that ensures provincial and local public servants reflect a national mix.
• Mkhize is a lecturer in history at Rhodes University
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