Youth and Identity Politics in South Africa 1990-1994 (review)

In Youth and Identity Politics in South Africa 1990–1994, Sibusisiwe Nombuso Dlamini reviews the process by which identity formations in South Africa evolved during the latter years of the apartheid era. She acknowledges from the outset that most of the political identities claimed by black South Africans resulted from "ethnicity from above" or "imposed ethnicity." Historically, these identities were sponsored by European colonists who had a vested interest in dividing the African population in South Africa into ten distinct black nations. A second process of identity formation resulted from the struggle against apartheid. Near the end of this struggle a third process of identity formation developed, a redefinition of the terms "Xhosa" and "Zulu" that were built upon competing aspirations for a postapartheid state. Dlamini's book explains how individuals negotiated these transformations in identity.

First, it is necessary to clarify some misrepresentations. By youth Dlamini means about three dozen individuals between the ages of twenty and thirty-five whom she interviewed for the book. All of these individuals were Zulu. By "South Africa" she means the KwaZulu/Natal region. And by "1990–1994" she really means a period of time beginning with the rise of the Zulu Kingdom in the 1820s to 2004, when the manuscript went to press in the midst of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has claimed hundreds of lives each day in South Africa.

With these clarifications, Dlamini's work constitutes an insightful and valuable inquiry into the various sociocultural practices that have shaped Zulu identities, especially during the decade leading up to South Africa's emergence as a democracy in 1994. Her study centers on the area of Umlazi outside Durban, where she engaged in a "participation-observation" study of young people who did not support Inkatha, the Zulu nationalist organization led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. These individuals created a number of strategies for expressing support for the African National Congress (ANC) or the United Democratic Front (UDF). The latter emerged in 1983 and soon threatened Inkatha's claim to be the largest liberation movement inside South Africa. When the apartheid government lifted the ban on the ANC and ended restrictions on the UDF in February 1990, Inkatha's power base in KwaZulu/Natal became even more vulnerable. Zulu youth who supported the progressive politics of the ANC and UDF developed linguistic and cultural practices to manifest their political identity and invented the name tsatsatsa to describe themselves

Dlamini's analyzes in great detail how these tsatsatsa went about differentiating themselves from Inkatha supporters in their everyday activities. Tsatsatsa were more likely to socialize at multiracial amusement or recreational centers in Durban and other cities, rather than playing soccer or watching movies in township community halls. Tsatsatsa tended to engage in athletic activities such as weight lifting rather than jogging around the township, and tsatsatsa generally preferred to communicate in Zulu rather than English.

Dlamini has organized a fascinating case study that reveals the complexity and competing definitions of "ethnicity." She uncovers the relationships between formal and interpersonal politics, and shows how Zulu youth negotiated township life at a time of fundamental transformation in the political life of South Africa. That said, it is not clear whether this case study offers much in terms of explanatory analysis for South Africa in general or Africa as a whole. Nor is it clear why Dlamini stopped her study in 1994 and then waited ten years to publish it without any corresponding update on how the identity politics of KwaZulu/Natal played themselves out during this crucial decade in South Africa's history. Still, Dlamini's work should be of interest to those with a particular interest in Zulu politics.