‘A Perfect System of Control’? State Power and ‘Native Locations' in South Africa

Abstract

In this, paper I draw upon recent accounts of the state, notably that developed by Michael Mann, in order to investigate the formation of ‘Locations' (segregated and separately administered residential areas for African people) in South Africa. The central argument is that the Location was a territorial strategy employed by the state (amongst others) to enhance its powers and capacities with respect to South Africa's black population. This argument relies upon a theory of the state which preserves state autonomy, but which allows that outcomes, such as the Location, are the result of a variety of processes, including economic conflict. State territorial strategies abound both in the South African context and in the more general colonial context, and thus, in this paper I put forward a wide-ranging research agenda around the themes of the colonial or racial state, territoriality, and power-themes which have hitherto received little attention.