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Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2023
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2023
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| _version_ | 1867614037417656320 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay |
| author2 | Robins, Steven Lance |
| author_browse | Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay Robins, Steven Lance |
| author_facet | Robins, Steven Lance Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay |
| author_sort | Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2023 |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/128890 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:40.057Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/128890 Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay Robins, Steven Lance Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute Nuclear energy -- South Africa Environmental justice -- South Africa Antinuclear movement -- South Africa Nuclear disarmament -- South Africa Religious institutions -- South Africa Ethnology Patchwork UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2023 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA) played an important role in halting the South African government’s plan to undertake a R1.2 trillion new nuclear build project through a strategic court case which the two nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) won in 2017. This court victory was the high point of SAFCEI’s anti-nuclear campaign, and the organisation celebrated their successful legal action as an “outright” win for environmental justice. Five years after the conclusion of the so-called nuclear deal court case, its legacy remained central to SAFCEI’s anti-nuclear campaign as well as the organisation’s broader work, identity, and reputation. The anti-nuclear campaign, however, had been dormant since 2018. Nevertheless, SAFCEI staff members felt obligated to uphold the legacy of the nuclear deal court case and, through eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork, I followed the organisation’s attempts to revive its anti- nuclear campaign during 2022. At a time of significant organisational change, SAFCEI’s anti-nuclear campaign remained static. Staff members continuously repeated the story of the nuclear deal court case, and reused the materials and repertoires that had accompanied the earlier campaign as they tried to revitalise it. The legacies of the court case were ever-present and afforded SAFCEI a degree of legitimacy in policy-making spaces and NGO coalitions. However, the campaign had also stagnated in the years since the nuclear deal court case, and its legacy burdened the staff members tasked with perpetuating it. SAFCEI and ELA deliberately restricted the arguments they made in court to narrow procedural issues, and this case did not have far-reaching effects on nuclear energy governance in South Africa, or produce a popular anti-nuclear movement. Legal action is often an inappropriate tactic in environmental justice struggles, and the nuclear deal court case undermined the sustainability of SAFCEI’s anti-nuclear campaign and, therefore, its ability to realise further-reaching justice in South Africa. SAFCEI’s bureaucratisation, organisational loss of faith, staff shortages, and burnout – themselves legacies of the nuclear deal court case – hindered the organisation’s attempts to revitalise the anti-nuclear campaign through the Legacy Project faith leader advocacy training workshops and restarted anti-nuclear vigils. By the end of my fieldwork, these projects had largely failed to achieve their goals. However, the temporalities of advocacy and justice, like many of the violences against which they stand, are slow. SAFCEI’s anti-nuclear campaign was still in motion, and its effects remain to be seen. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) en Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA) het ‘n belangrike rol gespeel om die Suid-Afrikaanse regering se plan te stuit om ‘n nuwe kernbouprojek van R1.2 triljoen aan te pak deur ‘n strategiese hofsaak wat die twee nie-regeringsorganisasies (NROs) het in 2017 gewen. Hierdie hofoorwinning was die hoogtepunt van SAFCEI se anti-kernkragveldtog, en die organisasie het hul suksesvolle regstappe as ‘n “reguit” oorwinning vir omgewingsgeregtigheid gevier. Vyf jaar ná die afhandeling van die sogenaamde kernkragooreenkoms-hofsaak, het die nalatenskap daarvan sentraal gebly tot SAFCEI se anti-kernkragveldtog sowel as die organisasie se breër werk, identiteit, en reputasie. Die anti-kernveldtog was egter dormant sedert 2018. Nietemin het SAFCEI-personeellede verplig gevoel om die nalatenskap van die kernkragooreenkoms- hofsaak te handhaaf, en deur elf maande se etnografiese veldwerk het ek die organisasie se pogings gevolg om sy anti-kernveldtog gedurende 2022 te laat herleef. In ‘n tyd van organisatoriese verandering het SAFCEI se anti-kernveldtog staties gebly. Personeellede het voortdurend die storie van die kernkragooreenkoms-hofsaak herhaal, en die materiaal wat die vroeër veldtog vergesel het, hergebruik terwyl hulle probeer het om dit te laat herleef. Die nalatenskap van die hofsaak was altyd teenwoordig en het SAFCEI ‘n mate van legitimiteit verleen. Die veldtog het egter ook gestagneer in die jare sedert die hofsaak, en die nalatenskap daarvan het die personeellede wat die taak gehad het om dit voort te sit, belas. SAFCEI en ELA het die argumente wat hulle in die hof gemaak het beperk tot prosedurele kwessies, en hierdie saak het nie verreikende uitwerking op kernenergiebestuur in Suid-Afrika gehad nie, of ‘n gewilde anti-kernbeweging opgelewer nie. Regstappe is dikwels ‘n onvanpaste taktiek in omgewingsgeregtigheidstryde, en die kernkragooreenkoms-hofsaak het die volhoubaarheid van SAFCEI se anti-kernkragveldtog ondermyn en dus sy vermoë om verderreikende geregtigheid in Suid-Afrika te verwesenlik. SAFCEI se burokratisering, organisatoriese verlies aan geloof, personeeltekorte en uitbranding – self nalatenskap van die kernkragooreenkoms-hofsaak – het die organisasie se pogings belemmer om die anti- kernveldtog te laat herleef deur die Legacy Project geloofsleier-voorspraak- opleidingswerkswinkels en herbegin teen-kernwake. Teen die einde van my veldwerk het hierdie projekte grootliks misluk om hul doelwitte te bereik. Die tydelikheid van voorspraak en geregtigheid, soos baie van die geweld waarteen hulle staan, is egter stadig. SAFCEI se teenkernveldtog was steeds aan die gang, en die uitwerking daarvan moet nog gesien word. Masters 2023-11-08T12:31:48Z 2024-01-08T14:45:40Z 2023-11-08T12:31:48Z 2024-01-08T14:45:40Z 2023-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/128890 en Stellenbosch University vi, 141 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute Nuclear energy -- South Africa Environmental justice -- South Africa Antinuclear movement -- South Africa Nuclear disarmament -- South Africa Religious institutions -- South Africa Ethnology Patchwork UCTD Clapperton, Keilidh Skye Lindsay Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title | Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title_full | Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title_fullStr | Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title_short | Nuclear legacies: an ethnographic study of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s anti-nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| title_sort | nuclear legacies an ethnographic study of the southern african faith communities environment institute s anti nuclear campaign in the aftermath of a court victory |
| topic | Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute Nuclear energy -- South Africa Environmental justice -- South Africa Antinuclear movement -- South Africa Nuclear disarmament -- South Africa Religious institutions -- South Africa Ethnology Patchwork UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/128890 |
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