Introduction

Hyenas of the Limpopo: The Social Politics of Undocumented Movement Across South Africa’s Border with Zimbabwe

“…The renewed interest around them, especially in political anthropology, now sees reflection on how they have long been interacting more directly with social processes of domination, dispossession and exploitation (Mezzadra & Neilson, 2013;Schierup, 2015). By interrogating borders from the perspective of everyday practices, I join these voices in underlining that borders are ubiquitous where labour moves internationally.…”

“…In this context of a shrinking and fragmenting labour market and increasing 'informalisation from above', the spectre of a South Africa that was perceived by many would-be African migrants as finally ready for free movement was added (Vigneswaran, 2007). Practices that stemmed from the apartheid era policies of restricting movement, however, succeeded in blocking avenues for documented travel into the country, so that both irregular movement, and informal employment and livelihood strategies have become a distinct feature of the post-1994 era (Segatti & Landau, 2008;Fine, 2014;Crush, Skinner, & Chikanda, 2015;Wotela & Letsiki 2015;Schierup, 2015Schierup, , 2016Schierup, , 2017. The disintegration of Zimbabwe's own economy has especially added to these challenges so that many now find self-sustenance and livelihood support outside what is often measured and designated as the formal sector.…”

“…Although irregular migration as a mass phenomenon represents a relative (post-apartheid) novelty, rather than a historically continuous phenomenon, 33 this attempt at tracing border practices in Southern African historiography partly 33. With insights from Jan Theron (2010), Carl-ulrik Schierup (2015Schierup ( , 2016 and others, I wish to reiterate that irregular migration emerged around the edges of regulated cross border migration (through agreements with neighbouring states). It followed the same process of circular migration back and forth between mines and agriculture in South Africa and distant labour reserves (similar to the role the Bantustans played in South Africa proper) as was guided by managed migration.…”

“…Thus, they have played a part in shaping the interaction between institutional norms, social relations and the everyday experiences which the present accelerated patterns of undocumented crossborder movement and cross-border informality have built. From this narrow historical precedence, we can see how -although the particular quality of precarity has changed -with much more fragmentary patterns today than during apartheid (Schierup, 2015), the precedence for undocumented cross-border movement, a part of which rests in attitudes of resistance towards documents, emerges from such a fractured past.…”

“…And yet, as the literature suggests, informalisation and its particular connection to irregular migration, are indeed fundamental markers of the post-apartheid/ post-colonial (neoliberal) age. With its present specific features, as Schierup (2015Schierup ( , 2016 has argued, informalisation is especially glaring if compared the apartheid (developmental) state, with its centralised state bureaucratic management and monitoring of both movement and labour.…”