Orania: A white homeland in post‐apartheid South Africa

• Published in: Sociology compass Vol. 16; no. 7
• Main Author: Majavu, Mandisi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-07-2022
• Subjects: 21st century; African history; Afrikaans culture; Afrikaners; anti‐black racism; Apartheid; Discrimination; Ethnic identity; Historiography; Identity politics; Learning; Orania; Politics; Racism; Separatism; volkstaat; white homeland; white identity politics; South Africa
• ISSN: 1751-9020; 1751-9020
• DOI: 10.1111/soc4.13004

This paper employs the race formation theory to trace the historical origins of the idea of Orania, an exclusively White town in post‐apartheid South Africa. A key finding is that Orania is a historical product of the centuries‐old, racist idea of a White homeland in South Africa which is referred to as The Boer Republics in South African historiography. Throughout South African history, White separatist ideas have always served as the foundation for the Afrikaner White homeland narrative. This paper uses the concept of White identity politics to frame the discourse of the “vulnerable White minority” that White residents of Orania deploy to conceal their White separatist ideas under the aegis of culture. This article demonstrates that the practice of White identity politics in Orania offers learning opportunities for anti‐racist academics who research new forms of racism in the 21st century.