Responding to the smoke that calls

Exploring the causes of collective violence and how these can be addressed at a community level

Monica Bandeira

• Building on the report: The smoke that calls: Insurgent citizenship, collective violence and the struggle for a place in the new South Africa” written by the CSVR and the Society, Work and Development Institute (of the University of the Witwatersrand)

• This report focused on exploring ways of intervening at a community-level to prevent collective violence

• Each case study was analysed in terms of root, proximate, and immediate (accelerating and decelerating) causes of collective violence (adapted from the model developed by Schmid and Sirseloudi)

• Common themes across the different case studies were extracted• These causes were then explored further to identify appropriate

principles for community-level interventions

Research Sites

Site Type Primary Violence Secondary Violence

Voortrekker Rural town Community protest Xenophobic attacks

Kungcatsha Rural town Community protest Xenophobic attacks

Azania Rural town Community protest Xenophobic attacks

Slovoview Urban/RDP/Informal Community protest & xenophobic attacks

Community protest

Gladysville Urban/RDP/Informal Community protest & xenophobic attacks

Trouble Urban/RDP/Informal Community protest & xenophobic attacks

Bokfontein Rural informal Xenophobic violence prevented

Local development, no protest

Ficksburg Community protest

Level of Causes

Causes % of communities where present

Root Causes High levels of unemployment 100%Poverty 100%Inequality 67%Use of apartheid era protest action 50%History of violence in the community 17%

Proximate Causes

Poor local governance (including): 100%·         Corruption 83%·         Lack of communication with communities 83%·         Competition for access to resources 67%·         Indifference to the needs of the community 67%·         Patronage networks 50%·         Politics of excess 33%·         Use of outsiders in official positions 33%·         Gender as an issue in local governance 33%·         Internal conflict 17%·         Lack of accountability 17%·         Poor treatment of community members by officials 17%·         Use of sex in exchange of opportunities 17%·         Nepotism 17%·         Inadequate leadership 17%·         Conflict between officials and civic leaders 17%

Level of Causes

Causes % of communities where present

Proximate Causes

Problems with services delivery: 100%·         Housing 100%·         Electricity 67%·         Education 67%·         Health 50%·         Water 33%·         Sanitation 33%·         Lack of recreational spaces 33%Political friction in the community 83%·         Between different parties 50%·         Within the ANC 50%Failure of previous peaceful protest actions 67%High levels of crime 50%Lack of judicial institutions such as a police station 33%High number of foreign nationals 33%Civic organisations take over 33%Low educational levels 17%High levels of substance abuse in community 17%Contested border 17%High density of population 17%Workers protest action close to the community 17%

Level of Causes

Causes % of communities where present

Accelerators Police: 100%·         Use of aggression against protestors 67%·         Confused, weak and incompetent 33%·         Inaction 17%·         Use of outside units 17%·         Use of torture 17%·         Unable to access area 17%Political entrepreneurs 67%Economic entrepreneurs 50%Youth involvement 33%Collective violence occurs nearby 17%

Short-term prevention

Medium-term prevention

Long-term prevention

Root causesPoverty

Unemployment

Inequality

Use of apartheid era protest action

Proximate causesPoor service delivery

Political conflict and entrepreneurship

Poor local governance

Failure of previous peaceful protest actions

High levels of crime

AcceleratorsThe role of the police

Political entrepreneurship

Subaltern crowds (criminal and political opportunism)

The role of the youth

Collective violence

DeceleratorsThe role of the police

The role of leaders

Non-violent forms of protest action

Principles of community-level interventions for the prevention of collective violence:• Understanding the notion of community• Understanding the complexities of communities• Defining the theoretical model of intervention• Recognising the unique context of each community:

community mapping• Relationship and credibility building• Encouraging democratic participation and processes in

communities• Long-term engagement required

Addressing the root causes at a community level- long-term prevention:• Community collective action can be used to support initiatives that

advocate for policies that address the issues of poverty, unemployment, and inequality

• Community collective action can be used to lobby for that community to be a recipient of economic development opportunities

• Organisations can play an important role in identifying and facilitating connections between these and the independent community-led movements established

• Case example 1: Creating “Safe communities of opportunity”, South Africa

• Case example 2: the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India• Case example 3: Community healing and economic development in

Bokfontein, South Africa

Addressing the proximate causes at a community level – medium-term prevention:• Independent community groups can become “watchdogs” of local governance

structures and service delivery• Community collective action can also be used to encourage the reporting of

cases of corruption by local government officials• Communities could make use of the media to highlight their needs and concerns• Independent community-led movements should attempt to engage with local

governance structures and create platforms and opportunities for communication• Organisations can assist communities to connect with organisations with

particular experience and skills in accessing information at the community level• Organisations can play an important role in outlining the different complaints

mechanisms that exist within government structures• Case example 4: Holding the state to account: Citizens voice through report

cards, Bangalore• Case example 5: Using its New Law to Powerful Effect, South Africa• Case example 6: Uncovering Corruption in the Thai School System, Thailand

Addressing the accelerators and increasing the decelerators of collective violence at a community level – immediate prevention:• Building relationships between the independent community movement and the

police• Ensuring the presence of protest monitors from within the community• Framing all protest actions in non-violent, peaceful terms• Communities can also increase their ability to be sensitive to/aware of how

subaltern crowds emerge and direct crowd behaviour in negative ways, to meet their own agenda

• Organisations can establish contact between the independent community movements and peace-building organisations that could provide capacity building

• Leaders should use their influence in the community to emphasise non-violent protest actions and condemn violent ones

• Case example 7: Peaceful protest action as a reaction to a military coup d’état, Honduras

• Case example 8: Using trained peace marshals, the United States of America

Concluding remarks