MIGRATION AND SECURITY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

This article examines the complex relationship between migration and security in Southern Africa in the post-apartheid era. It analyzes the various forms of cross-border movement in the region, including labor migration, forced migration of refugees and asylum seekers, and irregular migration. The study explores how these population movements are increasingly being viewed through a security lens by states in the region, particularly the new democratic South Africa, which had become a major destination for migrants. The research assesses the security challenges associated with migration, such as xenophobia, social tensions in host communities, and the strain on public services. The paper also critiques the securitization of migration, arguing that a purely state-centric security approach fails to address the underlying drivers of migration, such as poverty and political instability, and ignores the human security of the migrants themselves. The analysis concludes by calling for a more comprehensive and cooperative regional framework for managing migration.

The end of apartheid fundamentally reshaped the patterns of migration in Southern Africa, creating new challenges for regional security. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the nexus between migration and security in this new era. The study begins by mapping the major migration corridors in the region, highlighting the historical patterns of labor migration to South Africa's mines and farms and the new flows of both skilled and unskilled migrants in the 1990s. The core of the article is an examination of how migration became a "securitized" issue. It analyzes the rise of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals in South Africa and the political discourse that often framed migrants as a threat to jobs, social order, and national security. The paper critiques this securitization, arguing that it often conflates different types of migration and ignores the significant economic contributions that migrants make. The analysis then shifts to a broader regional perspective, exploring the security implications of refugee flows from countries still experiencing conflict and the challenges of managing porous borders. The findings suggest that a unilateral, security-focused approach to migration is counterproductive. The paper concludes by advocating for the development of a coherent regional migration policy under the framework of SADC, one that balances the legitimate security concerns of states with the protection of migrants' rights and a recognition of the developmental benefits of well-managed migration.