Food insecurity, xenophobia, and political legitimacy: exploring the links in post-COVID-19 South Africa

Dlamini, Khulekani T.; Hull, Elizabeth

Abstract

Food insecurity in South Africa was critical prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the problem deepened quickly during the pandemic when government controls caused job losses, a food supply collapse, and escalating hunger. The food and fuel price hikes and political instability that followed led to the July 2021 ‘unrest’, which left more than 350 people dead. Behind this lay a crisis within the governing African National Congress. In this paper, we draw on in-depth interviews and ethnography with individuals working in food-based livelihoods to investigate how people continued to secure food, and how rural food systems were affected. Against a backdrop of hunger, social unrest, and xenophobic hostility, we consider how people perceive the state in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. We argue that weak governing institutions and South Africa's exposure to globally-triggered spikes in food and fuel prices are leading to food insecurity. Hunger, in turn, is contributing to a crisis of legitimation for the state.

Citation

Dlamini, K. T., & Hull, E. (2025). Food insecurity, xenophobia, and political legitimacy: exploring the links in post-COVID-19 South Africa. Disasters, 49(1), Article e12667. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12667

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 17, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 31, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2025
• Deposit Date: Nov 8, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 8, 2024
• Journal: Disasters
• Print ISSN: 0361-3666
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-7717
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: e12667
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12667
• Keywords: COVID-19, food insecurity, food prices, governance, politicallegitimacy, rural food systems, South Africa, xenophobia
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/disa.12667