Abstract
In Neoliberal Apartheid, Clarno presents a history of settler colonialism and racial capitalism in South Africa and Palestine/Israel since 1994. Specifically, Clarno analyzes the political economy of settler colonialism and racial capitalism with focus on the relationship between neoliberalization and decolonization. The book sets out to compare the changes that have taken place in both societies since 1994. It seeks to explain why the transitions of the last 20 years have produced such different states and why these transitions have had different impacts on the political freedom of Palestinians and Black South Africans. According to Clarno, the South African state was democratized, and deracialized and Black South Africans gained formal legal equality. On the other hand, Palestinians won neither freedom nor equality through the formation of the Palestinian Authority. The State of Israel remains a settler colonial state over the entire territory of Palestine/Israel. Despite such changes, both societies have experienced a combination of marginalization and securitization which are the dynamics at the heart of neoliberal apartheid. Moreover, Clarno examines how the shifting relationship between racism, capitalism, colonialism, and empire has generated inequality and insecurity, marginalization, and securitization in South Africa and Palestine/Israel.
Although the comparison between South Africa and Palestine/Israel is not new, Clarno’s research presents a unique perspective on inequalities experienced by Palestinians and Black South Africans. Clarno then explores the causes and consequences of marginalization in Alexandra and Bethlehem. He analyzes the pressure release policies deployed to contain the crises generated by marginalization. Then, his discussion focuses on struggles of the urban poor in South Africa and Palestine/Israel which have produced crises for the neoliberal racial capitalist regimes and how neoliberal security networks have been built to police these crises. In this way, the book focuses on securitization in the wealthy neighborhoods around Sandton, whereas in the West Bank, this focus has been on the emergence of new security networks. In Johannesburg, these networks are defined by privatization while in the West Bank, securitization is driven by the State of Israel and has been facilitated by the United States and the European Union, and supported by Jordan and Egypt, and operated through coordinated deployments of Israeli military and Palestinian Authority security forces. The strategies of racialized policing deployed by these networks have been explored in this book. In South Africa, a cutting-edge form of preventive security employs racial profiling to regulate the presence of young Black men in wealthy neighborhoods, while, in the West Bank, the security forces use shared intelligence, morality policing, and other tactics against the Palestinian poor.
Although the book has extensive information about neoliberal apartheid, there are some weaknesses in Clarno’s comparison. First, the author compares the social transition through Racial Capitalism and Settler Colonialism, while these two systems entirely are products of two different periods of history. For instance, the major conflict in the case of Israel/Palestine is land and religion while in South Africa it was based on racial segregation policies. In other words, religion in Israel plays a major role in shaping Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Therefore, how could these two extremely different systems be comparable while apartheid in South Africa is mainly referring to racial segregation?
In the introduction, Clarno states that ‘the South African state was democratized, and deracialized and Black South Africans gained formal legal equality.’ But contrary to his argument, as recent studies show, many of the inequalities created by racial apartheid remain in South Africa’s post-apartheid. Next, the author states that ‘The expansion of the black and Latino middle classes in the United States is matched by the growth of middle classes and elites in parts of the Global South – from China and India to South Africa and Palestine/Israel.’ How could the Black and Latino middle class in the United States and Israel/Palestine and South Africa be comparable, while the class system in these countries are different and their people experience different social mobility?
Furthermore, a lack of a comprehensive history about the apartheid system is another shortcoming of the study, as racial and religious apartheid is universal and is a product of historical determinism which starts with Plato, who believed in segregation of the guardians.
From a methodological standpoint, using solely qualitative data for such extensive research is another issue. For instance, the author mainly relies on ethnographic observation and interview to compare two macro-political systems while ethnography and interview are more appropriate for case studies at the micro-level. The definition of concepts such as inequality, discrimination, and segregation socially and legally varies from society to society and therefore, using ethnography for such study could lead to cultural bias.
Overall, given the scale of human suffering inherent in both conflicts, Neoliberal Apartheid is a powerfully argued analysis of inequality. The book is ideal for graduate students and scholars who will understand these same strengths and weaknesses.