Written in the Sand; The San people, statelessness and the Logic of the State

The San people of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa remain stateless, in a region undergoing rapid modernisation. Like other stateless groups, they exist peripherally within the states that they legally and territorially belong. This thesis, investigates how the San have remained outside the state logic of South Africa and Botswana, through testing James C. Scott’s theory of statelessness and its indicators upon the case of the San within the international system. The study spans from late 18th century colonisation to 21st century globalisation, descriptively tracing Scott’s indicators of statelessness through an empirical analytical narrative. A process undertaken using a historical critical method and formative moments. The answer is two part, firstly that during the 18th & 19th centuries the San remained stateless due to the limitations of the state, weighed against the mobility of the San, with Scott’s theory being retained. Secondly during the 20th & 21st centuries, the San remained stateless yet loosing their autonomy due to state encroachment and consequential distancing practices.