Afrikaner nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism (
According to historian T. Dunbar Moodie, Afrikaner nationalism could be described as a
Formulating the ideology
One of the first champions of Afrikaner nationalism was an ordained minister,
Dutch Reformed Church
Religion, especially
Secular Afrikaner nationalism
During the 1930s and 1940s many intellectuals participated in the theoretical formulation of Afrikaner nationalism.
The Afrikaner nationalist intelligentsia, along with the National Party and the Broederbond, ended up formulating a radical nationalistic policy which rejected British hegemony in economics and politics as well as ethnic mengelmoes ("mess") induced by the transportation of black
Afrikaner nationalism and race
Initially during the 19th century the position of the Dutch Reformed Church on the nationalist issue was more pragmatic than ideological and for example, in South Africa, racial segregation was accepted[by whom?] as a harmonious way of administering a heterogeneous community. The economic depression in South Africa between 1905 and 1909 changed this attitude when a new group of "poor whites", mostly Afrikaners, emerged.[5] By 1939 racial segregation had become a church dogma:
- "The policy of segregation as advocated by the Afrikaner and his church is the holy calling of the Church to see to the thousands of poor whites in the cities who fight a losing battle in the present economic world... The application of segregation will furthermore lead to the creation of separate healthy cities for the non-whites where they will be in a position to develop along their own lines, establish their own institutions and later on govern themselves under the guardianship of the whites"[6]
The Afrikaner state as a Christian civilisation thus had an alleged divine right to stay separate and to rule the surrounding "heathen" nations.[7][8]
Afrikaner nationalism and National Socialism
Afrikaner nationalism and Nazism had common roots in religio-nationalism and in Pan-Germanism, and therefore the racist elements of both movements could assimilate.[9] For example, Afrikaner criticism of the capitalistic system in the inter-war period was quite anti-Semitic.[10][11][need quotation to verify] Many[quantify] Afrikaner nationalists also viewed a strong government on Nazi-German lines [citation needed] as necessary to protect the nation (volk). Just before and during World War II (1939–1945), these sentiments led to the appearance of a number of pro-Nazi [citation needed] Afrikaner nationalistic organisations, such as the Ossewabrandwag (founded in February 1939) and its paramilitary wing Stormjaers.[12]
Afrikaner nationalistic politics
The
Broederbond
During the 1930s a group of Broederbond members shaped Afrikaner nationalistic ideology, by trying to create a common "Christian-republican" identity for white, Afrikaans speaking South Africans as well as introducing the idea of Volkskapitalisme (people's capitalism) that tried to take control from the allegedly "British" or "Jewish" Capitalism and adapt it to Afrikaner culture.[17] Volkskapitalisme strived to improve the economic conditions of the Afrikaners who in general at the time were less well-off than the English-speaking whites in South Africa. In practice the program consisted of utilising Afrikaner investment into both new and existing Afrikaner businesses. Although volkskapitalisme managed to develop some Afrikaner businesses, such as Sanlam and Santam (to provide Afrikaners with financial aid) into corporate giants that still have a central role in South African economy, ultimately the economic benefits for the majority of the poor Afrikaners were slim.[17]
Despite the efforts of Broederbond activists to "Afrikanerise" South Africa, the uptake of this new Christian republican identity was slow and unenthusiastic. According to electoral studies the majority of the target group (white, Afrikaans speaking South Africans) did not vote for the National Party until the early 1960s.[17]
Popular media
During the 1930s and 1940s Afrikaner nationalists used popular medias to diffuse nationalism with maps and narratives of the heroic past of Afrikaners people, moral purpose and a place among other nations. These ideas were spread through new emerging Afrikaner print media, such as the Christian-nationalistic journal Koers (Direction) and more popularised magazines such as Inspan and Huisgenoot as well as books published by the Burger Boekhandel publishing house and the newspapers
Rise to power
South African opposition to the country's involvement in both wars against
Emerging conflicts
During the 1960s a split emerged among the Afrikaner electorate over the issue of how to preserve a distinct identity in a multi-ethnic society: one faction insisted on preserving the national identity through strict isolation, while others thought that such barriers needed to be relaxed. Evidence of this manifested itself in the 1970 election as a radical splinter group from the National Party, the Herstigte Nasionale Party, got 3.59% of the vote compared to the National Party's 54.86%. The gulf widened further during the 1980s partly due to international pressure against apartheid.[15]
One notable Afrikaner nationalist organisation was the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), a political and former paramilitary group. The group had the support of an estimated 5–7 percent of white South Africans in 1988.[22] The organisation was consumed with personal and militant scandals in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led to a diminished support. This organisation however, never garnered substantial Afrikaner support and which substantial support was retained by the National Party until its dissolution.
In the 1990s the National Party acknowledged the failure of its ethnic project and under the leadership of
After apartheid
Although it has mostly disappeared from publicity, Afrikaner nationalism is kept alive through such political initiatives as the Cyber Republic of the Boer Nation, [citation needed] which claims to be "the only white indigenous tribe in Southern Africa" and has tried to appeal to the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations for the protection of cultural, linguistic and religious rights of people around the world.[24] In 1996 and 2005, Afrikaner nationalists submitted petitions claiming indigenous status to the UN. The claims were rejected on the grounds that Afrikaners were not marginalised or discriminated against, nor did Afrikaners meet the criteria to be indigenous. [25]
Also some marginal right wing political parties, such as the Herstigte Nasionale Party, still declare their goal to be the "unashamed promotion of Afrikaner nationalism".[26]
Front National (South Africa); a political party in South Africa also emerged in the post-apartheid years promoting Afrikaner Nationalism. The party is linked to South Africa Today media outlet that reports about South African farm attacks and other issues that affect white South Africans.
The tradition of Christian-national education is continued by the
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging has largely been inactive in South Africa since the demise of apartheid, although in 2008, the organisation was reactivated and is actively seeking an Afrikaner secessionist state within South Africa.
The
Afrikaner nationalist parties
- Freedom Front Plus (1994–present)
- National Conservative Party of South Africa (2016–present)
- Afrikaner Self-determination Party (2020–present)
Former Afrikaner nationalist parties
- Afrikaner Party (1941–1951)
- Herstigte Nasionale Party (1969–1989) Still operating as a pressure group
- Conservative Party (South Africa) (1982–2004)
- Front Nasionaal (2013–2020)
See also
- Ethnic nationalism
- Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge
- Orania
- Suid-Afrikaanse Noodhulpliga
- Volkstaat
- Voortrekkers (youth organisation)
- White nationalism
- White South Africans
- Apartheid laws
References
- ^ a b "Afrikaner Nationalism – MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 1 November 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-275-98311-0.
- ^ The dictionary definition of volk at Wiktionary
- ^ "S. J. Du Toit – MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 1 November 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-22505-1.
- ^ a b "Wallace G. Mills Hist. 322 14a Religion and Afrikaner Nationalism". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ ISBN 1-85065-244-9.
- S2CID 145543548.
- ISSN 2196-680X.
- ^ For example: Marx, Christoph (2009). Oxwagon Sentinel: Radical Afrikaner Nationalism and the History of the Ossewabrandwag. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 254–255.
After 1936 the NP developed increasingly explicit anti-Semitic tendencies, and in the same year it took part in an anti-Semitic campaign connected with the arrival of the refugee ship Stuttgart in Cape Town harbour. The Stellenbosch professors Schumann and Verwoerd, both of whom had studied the problem of 'poor whites', took the lead as anti-Semitic agitators.
- ^
Bunting, Brian Percy (1964). The rise of the South African Reich. Penguin African library (2 ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books (published 1969). ISBN 9780140410129.
- ^ a b "Wallace G. Mills Hist. 322 14b Later Afrikaner Nationalism". Archived from the original on 10 October 2008.
- ^ Voortrekker Monument Archived 1 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, http://www.voortrekkermon.org
- )
- ^ ISBN 0-7969-1994-1.
- ISBN 0-7969-2061-3.
- ^ a b c d O'Meara, Dan (1–2 April 1997). "THINKING THEORETICALLY?". Paper presented to the Inaugural Conference of the Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2008.: "...responding to the 'pauperisation and domination' of Afrikaners by what the interpreters variously labelled as the 'British' or 'Jewish' 'capitalistic system', volkskapitalisme explicitly set out to "mobilise the volk to capture control of this foreign [capitalist] system and adapt it to our national character". This boiled down to a concerted programme to mobilise the savings of the volk to finance existing and new Afrikaner undertakings."
- ^ "The Origin and History of the Afrikaans Language". Archived from the original on 3 July 2006. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ Bogaards, Attie H. "Bybelstudies" (in Afrikaans). Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
- ^ "Afrikaanse Bybel vier 75 jaar" (in Afrikaans). Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Afrika. 25 August 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008.
- ^ Anonymous (4 April 2011). "General South African History Timeline: 1950s".
- ^ Battersby, John D. (22 February 1988). "Rightists Rally in Pretoria(PTA), Urging a White State". The New York Times.
- ^ South African Bureau of Heraldry (1995) Afrikaner-Volksfront flag, retrieved 28 June 2006
- ISBN 0-7969-2030-3.
- ^ "INDIGENOUS PEOPLES REGIONAL PROFILE: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA" (PDF). USAID.gov. Page 3. October 2021.
In 1996 and again in 2005, a group of Afrikaner nationalists submitted petitions claiming Indigenous status at the UN.5 The claims were rejected on the grounds that the group was neither marginalized, discriminated against, nor did it meet the criteria "set out in international legal standards and discourses at the present time".
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: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Basson J: Die Afrikaner – mondstuk van die nasionalistiese Afrikaner, Strydpers Bpk,"Blank". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ "CVO Skole". Archived from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ^ Bevan, Stephen (1 June 2008). "AWB leader Terre'Blanche rallies Boers again". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ White supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche is hacked to death after row with farmworkers The Guardian. 4 April 2010