ABSTRACT

The rhetoric espoused by the opponents of the #FeesMustFall protests and universities’ management in South Africa framed the discourse around the need to securitize campuses against the protestors who were a danger to students and the wider university community. The protestors framed their arguments within the security-development context, arguing that without free education they were bound to be excluded from education and later from jobs and a good livelihood, hence endangering their security. The stalemate quickly resulted in the securitization of university spaces a development that was backed up with the brutal force of police and private security companies pushing the students to engage in extreme measures like burning buildings to be heard. Through the use of securitization theory, this paper explores the rationale for the securitization of university spaces. The Security-Development nexus perspective sheds more light on the motives behind the #Feesmustfall movement. The paper further explores whether the combination of the securitization of university spaces and the funding offered by President Zuma were enough to quell the protest. The paper further delves into the new reality of private security companies expanding their role in the securitization of South Africa and the waning role of the police in the protection of public spaces. Key findings of the study are that both the students and universities had different interests during the fees must fall and without a mediator, the use of force ensued. Although the South African government has invested more money into universities, the relationship between the university management and the students remains fractured. Plus the lack of trained police unit to deal with student protests leaves the police unable to maintain law and order without resorting to extreme violence.

摘要

#FeesMustFall抗议活动的反对者和南非大学的管理者所发表的夸夸其谈的言论围绕着需要对抗议者进行证券化校园的论述，抗议者对学生和更广泛的大学社区构成威胁。抗议者在安全发展背景下提出了自己的论据，认为没有免费教育，他们就必然被排除在教育之外，之后又被排除在工作和良好的生活中，从而危及他们的安全。僵局很快导致大学空间的证券化，这一发展得到了警察和私人保安公司的残酷力量的推动，促使学生采取极端措施，例如焚烧建筑物。通过使用证券化理论，本文探讨了大学空间证券化的基本原理。安全与发展之间的联系透视了#Feesmustfall运动背后的动机。本文进一步探讨了大学空间的证券化和祖马总统提供的资金是否足以平息抗议。本文进一步探讨了私人保安公司扩大其在南非证券化中的作用以及警察在保护公共场所中逐渐减弱的作用的新现实。该研究的主要发现是，在费用必须下降期间，学生和大学都有不同的利益，并且在没有调解人的情况下随之而来使用武力。尽管南非政府已向大学投入了更多资金，大学管理层和学生之间的关系仍然破裂。加上缺乏训练有素的警察部门来应对学生的抗议活动，使得警察无法诉诸极端暴力来维持法律和秩序。