Abstract
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)
Violence and conflict are a notable feature in South Africa’s taxi industry and have
been since the 1970s. To date, most academic literature has focused on the industry’s
economic impact, deregulation and policy development. What has been missing is the
perspective of owners and drivers in the industry. The dissertation addresses this gap
by analysing experiences within one particular taxi association, which is located in
Ekurhuleni, a part of the country where violent conflict is endemic. Empirical findings
and analysis are based on semi-structured interviews and a research diary, which
contained observations and notes on conversations with elderly members of the
community. At an early stage, research revealed that taxi conflict could only be
understood within the context of localised ‘social order’. Deploying Karl von Holdt’s
concept of ‘violent democracy’, it is shown that violence is part of a repertoire of
actions, both peaceful and violent, used to build and maintain local social order. What
emerges is a picture of ‘state-like’ bodies that exist beyond, and sometimes in conflict
with, official regulation and normal policing. While the Ekurhuleni Taxi Association
(ETA), the focus of this study, proclaimed itself to be democratic, on the contrary, it
was run on the basis of ‘rule by a few’, that is, ‘oligarchy’. The dissertation concludes
by moving beyond von Holdt’s emphasis on the ability of violence and democracy to
co-exist, to argue that the taxi industry, at least in Ekurhuleni, is based on principles
of oligarchy that are inherently violent. Finally, it is postulated that below the formality
of democracy, much social and political life in South Africa might usefully be re-cast
as oligarchy.