An extraordinary outbreak of xenophobic violence in May 2008 shocked South Africa, but hostility toward newcomers has a long history. Democratization has channeled such discontent into a non-racial nationalism that specifically targets foreign Africans as a threat to prosperity. Finding suitable governmental and societal responses requires a better understanding of the complex legacies of segregation that underpin current immigration policies and practices. Unfortunately, conventional wisdoms of path dependency promote excessive fatalism and ignore how much South Africa is a typical settler state. A century ago, its policy makers shared innovative ideas with Australia and Canada, and these peers, which now openly wrestle with their own racist past, merit renewed attention. As unpalatable as the comparison might be to contemporary advocates of multiculturalism, rethinking restrictions in South Africa can also offer lessons for reconciling competing claims of indigeneity through multiple levels of representation and rights.

Honourable Mention, 2015 Francesco Guicciardini Prize, Historical International Relations Section (HIST), International Studies Association

“A remarkable analysis of the fascinating story of South Africa’s ongoing struggles to deal with and adapt to a panoply of migrants. Drawing on theoretical insights from comparative migration studies and constructivist international relations, Klotz transcends conventional periodizations and makes adroit use of comparative cases to produce a richly textured study revealing both persistent continuities and the conditions for agency and change. In doing so, she provides important insights for the amelioration of xenophobic tendencies.” – David Black, Dalhousie University

“Xenophobic violence against foreign migrants is a disturbing and ongoing feature of the ‘new’ South African politics. Audie Klotz provides a fine-grained analysis that explores the roots of this phenomenon. She shows that such xenophobia is not new to South Africa, but has emerged on a number of occasions over the past hundred years. Her analysis of the economic nationalism driving the violence is supplemented by a comparison of the experience of discrimination against foreign migrants found in the histories of Australia and Canada. She concludes with useful suggestions about policy directions that might be followed to ameliorate this violence.” – Mervyn Frost, King’s College London

“Klotz gives us an original and compelling account of migration and citizenship policies in the British Commonwealth with a focus on nation- and state-building in South Africa. Her mastery of the sources and the sweep of her argument make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the political development of the Dominions.” – James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University

“Like all states, South Africa was made by migration. This book is that story – theoretically subtle, historically informed, and empirically rich. It is an account of the making of the country like no other, and will surely become standard reading for every academic discipline in the Humanities and Social Sciences.” – Peter Vale, Professor of Humanities, University of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Professor of Politics Emeritus, Rhodes University

“This book raises the bar in the field of migration politics. Klotz deploys her well-known penchant for methodological rigor and enviable theoretical chops to explain how states generate xenophobic violence. Along the way, she resolves the problem of South African exceptionalism, reconstitutes historical institutionalist theory and identifies – alarmingly – that the so-called liberal consensus on immigration is more fragile than we had thought. This is essential and valuable reading for anyone interested in questions of state formation, migration, and identity.” – Darshan Vigneswaran, University of Amsterdam