Herrenvolk democracy
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Herrenvolk democracy is a nominally democratic form of government in which only a specific ethnic group has voting rights and the right to run for office, while other groups are disenfranchised.[4] Herrenvolk democracy is a subtype of ethnocracy, which refers to any form of government where one ethnic group dominates the state, with or without elections. Elections were/are generally free, but voting suffrage was restricted based on race, with governance that reflected the interests of the politically dominant racial group. The German term Herrenvolk, meaning "master race", was used in nineteenth century discourse that justified German colonialism with the supposed racial superiority of Europeans.[5]
Characteristics
This form of government is typically employed by an ethnic group or groups to maintain control and power within the system. It is often accompanied with a pretense of egalitarianism.[clarification needed] As people of the dominant ethnic group gain freedom and liberty and egalitarian principles are advanced, other ethnic groups are repressed and prevented from being involved in the government.
The term was first used in 1967 by Pierre van den Berghe in his book Race and Racism.[6]
Examples
In his 1991 book The Wages of Whiteness, historian David R. Roediger reinterprets this form of government in the context of 19th-century United States, arguing that the term "Herrenvolk republicanism" more accurately describes racial politics at this time. The basis of Herrenvolk republicanism went beyond the marginalization of black people in favor of a republican government serving the "master race"; it contended that "blackness" was synonymous with dependency and servility and was, therefore, antithetical to republican independence and white freedom.[7] Consequently, the dependent white worker at this time used his whiteness to differentiate himself from and elevate himself over the dependent black worker or enslaved person.[8] According to this ideology, black people were not merely "non-citizens"; they were "anti-citizens" who inherently opposed the ideals of a republican government.[9]
This principle can be seen in the development of both the United States—especially the Southern states—and South Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries.[10] In these historical scenarios, even as legislation moved toward universal male suffrage and later toward universal suffrage for white people, it also further entrenched restrictions on political participation by black people and upheld their disenfranchisement.[11] Southern Rhodesia and later Rhodesia restricted voting rights by qualifications like income and literacy, thus effectively restricting the franchise to the white population.[12]
In Liberia voting was restricted to descendants of Americo-Liberians until 1946.[13][14] Liberian nationality law is not alone:
At least half a dozen [African] countries effectively ensure that those from certain ethnic groups can never obtain nationality from birth; nor can their children nor their children’s children. At the most extreme end, Liberia and Sierra Leone, both founded by freed slaves, take the position that only those of “Negro” (Liberia) or “NegroAfrican” (Sierra Leone) descent can be citizens from birth. Sierra Leone also provides for more restrictive rules for naturalisation of “non-negro-Africans”, while Liberia provides that those not “of Negro descent” are not only excluded from citizenship from birth, but, “in order to preserve, foster, and maintain the positive Liberian culture, values, and character”, are prohibited from becoming citizens even by naturalisation.
— Manby, 2016[15]
Some scholars and commentators, including Ilan Pappé, Baruch Kimmerling, and Meron Benvenisti, have characterized Israel as a Herrenvolk democracy due to Israel's de facto control of the occupied territories whose native inhabitants may not vote in Israeli elections.[1][2][3][16][17]
See also
- Crime of apartheid
- Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era
- Dominant minority
- Ethnic democracy
- Ethnic nationalism
- Israeli apartheid
- Jewish and democratic state
- Jim Crow laws
- Planter class
- Settler colonialism
- Solid South
- Voter suppression
References
- ^ a b Kimmerling, Baruch (2002-04-03). "Opinion | A matter of conscience : Israeli democracy's decline". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ a b Barghouti, Omar (3 August 2011). "Dropping the last mask of democracy". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ a b Smooha, Sammy (April 1980). "Control of Minorities in Israel and Northern Ireland" (PDF). Comparative Studies in Society and History. 22 (2): 256–280. doi:10.1017/S0010417500009336. Archived from the original on 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Vickery, Kenneth P. (June 1974). "'Herrenvolk' Democracy and Egalitarianism in South Africa and the U.S. South". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 16 (13): 309–328. doi:10.1017/s0010417500012469. JSTOR 17826.
- ^ Gründer, Horst (1999). "Ideologie und Praxis des deutschen Kolonialismus" [Ideology and practice of German colonialism]. In Beck, Thomas (ed.). Überseegeschichte [Overseas history]. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. pp. 254 et seq. ISBN 9783515074902.
- ^ van den Berghe, Pierre L. (1967). Race and Racism: A Comparative Perspective. New York; Sydney: Wiley.
- ^ Roediger 1997, p. 172.
- ^ Roediger 1997, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Blevins, Cameron. "U.S. History Qualifying Exams: Book Summaries: The Wages of Whiteness". Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ Anderson, T. L. "Herrenvolk Democracy: The Rise of the Alt-Right in Trump's America". Critical Theory and the Humanities in the Age of the Alt-Right. Palgrave Macmillan: 88.
- ^ Vickery, Kenneth P. (June 1974). "'Herrenvolk' Democracy and Egalitarianism in South Africa and the U.S. South". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 16 (3): 311–315. doi:10.1017/s0010417500012469. JSTOR 17826.
- ^ West, Michael O. (18 December 2008). ""Equal Rights for All Civilized Men": Elite Africans and the Quest for "European" Liquor in Colonial Zimbabwe, 1924-1961" (PDF). International Review of Social History. 37 (3): 382. doi:10.1017/S0020859000111344.
- ^ Kazuteru Omori (2017). ""Little America" in Africa: Liberia as a Touchstone for African Americans" (PDF). The Japanese Journal of American Studies (28).
- ^ "1900-1997 One Nation, Many Peoples". Library of Congress.
- ^ Bronwen Manby (2016). Citizenship Law in Africa (3 ed.). Cape Town: African Minds. ISBN 978-1-928331-08-7.
- ^ Ariely, Gal (2021). "Israel's Regime Conflicting Classifications". In Kumaraswamy, P. R. (ed.). The Palgrave International Handbook of Israel. Singapore: Springer. pp. 1–16. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-2717-0_2-1. ISBN 978-981-16-2717-0.
- ^ Gerrard, Douglas (2019-04-19). "Weimar Israel". Jacobin. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
Bibliography
- Roediger, David R. (1997). The Wages of Whiteness. Philadelphia: Verso Books. ISBN 9781844671458.