Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / This thesis provides a critical and historical analysis of industrial ethnicity in African Harare between the 1890s and 1980. It examines the origins, dynamics and ambiguities of industrial ethnicity in urban colonial Harare (then Salisbury) and its attendant implications for socio-economic wellbeing and inter-group relations. It locates industrial ethnicity within broader questions of inequality and social difference, especially issues like affordability, materiality and power. The thesis pays particular attention to individuals and groups’ differential access to the ‘raw materials’ used in imagining and constructing forms of identification. The thesis is empirically grounded in a specific case study of industrial ethnicity among disparate African groups in urban colonial Zimbabwe, and in the context formed by factors that fomented ethnic enclaves in African Harare’s competitive labour markets during particular historical epochs. Such complex currents remain under-represented in current Zimbabwean historical literature. This is despite the salience and resonance of industrial ethnicity, as well as its multi-layered and ambiguous implications for inter-group relations, and its potential to create differential access to life chances for individuals and groups. The thesis contends that in crisis situations, people tend to identify with their ‘type’ and to use ethnic, kinship and other social ties in their scramble for socio-economic and political resources. This usually involves definitions and re-definitions of ‘selves’ and ‘others’; ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’; contestations and negotiations over identification; and how these varied identities are ‘materialised’. The ways in which migrant workers positioned themselves in the labour market depended on ensuing socio-economic inequalities and the use of social networks, which were indispensable conduits for the transmission of job information and local intelligence. The prevalence of ethnic enclaves and widespread ethnic clusters in colonial Harare’s labour market is explained in terms of a complex synergy of factors, including behavioural, historical, institutional and structural elements. Equally, industrial ethnicity, which had pre-colonial precedents, remained contested, fluid, and ambiguous, and was one among a range of forms of identification available to Salisbury’s African migrant workers. The thesis further situates African ethnicity in its political context by examining its ambivalent interaction with nationalist politics, gender and ‘othering’ work. It contends that African nationalism’s inherent underlying contradictions and tensions, and the subsequent dual categorisation of citizens into ‘patriots’ and ‘sell-outs’ set the stage for hegemonic (and counter-hegemonic) politics, ethnic competition and the politics of marginalisation in postcolonial Zimbabwe.

Le centre colonial de la métropole antique de Constantine : évolution des politiques et des pratiques urbaines depuis l'ère coloniale. L'urbanisation des villes algériennes est liée à la trilogie classique suivante : une croissance démographique rapide, une extension spatiale démesurée et une dynamique fonctionnelle incohérente. Cette dynamique urbaine se traduit par des irrégularités spatiales. Les différents instruments d'urbanisme et de gestion urbaine demeurent obsolètes en raison des écarts existants entre les politiques urbaines adoptées et les pratiques spatiales. La structure urbaine de la métropole de Constantine suscite les réflexions suivantes. Depuis la période coloniale, cette métropole a hérité d'un centre urbain polyfonctionnel greffé à la ville arabo-musulmane, la médina. Le centre colonial actif a connu au cours des dernières décennies de profondes mutations liées principalement à une dynamique urbaine, concrétisée par la prolifération de pôles périurbains qui sont tantôt concurrentiels tantôt complémentaires du centre colonial. De cette dynamique fonctionnelle résulte une nouvelle forme d'organisation spatiale et une centralité originale. Une analyse spatiale succincte révèle que la métropole de Constantine est structurée selon une mosaïque de zonages dont chacun correspond à une période déterminée et obéit à une politique urbaine spécifique engageant des pratiques distinctes. La structuration actuelle des espaces centraux de la métropole constantinoise, particulièrement le centre colonial, témoigne des incohérences entre les différentes politiques adoptées combinées aux acteurs sociaux et politiques. Ces considérations nécessitent une réflexion globale afin de coordonner les différents acteurs et praticiens de l'espace métropolitain. Les citadins ainsi que les différentes associations constantinoises sont rarement impliqués par les décideurs dans la réalisation d'opérations d'aménagement urbain. Toutes les décisions d'aménagement relèvent des autorités locales (communes) et régionales (wilaya). Le cheminement de notre recherche est axé selon trois grandes parties : L'évolution de la métropole et la centralité urbaine à Constantine La réglementation et les politiques d'aménagement adoptées La centralité urbaine : pratiques, mutations et perspectives. / The urbanization of Algerian cities is related to the classic trilogy follows: rapid population growth, a spatial extension disproportionate and inconsistent functional dynamics. This results in dynamic urban spatial irregularities. Different planning instruments and urban management remain outdated because of gaps between urban policies adopted and spatial practices. The urban structure of the city of Constantine raises the following reflections. Since the colonial period, the city has inherited a multifunctional urban grafted to the Arab-Muslim city, the medina. The colonial center assets has been in recent decades profound changes mainly related to urban dynamics, reflected in the proliferation of suburban centers which are sometimes complementary and sometimes competing colonial center. Functional dynamics of this result is a new form of spatial organization and centrality original. Spatial analysis shows that brief metropolis Constantine is structured with a mosaic zoning, each corresponding to a specific period and follows a specific urban policy involving distinct practices. The current structure of the central areas of the city of Constantine, especially the colonial center, demonstrates inconsistencies between policies combined with social and political actors. These considerations require a global approach to coordinate the various actors and practitioners in the metropolitan area. The urban as well as various associations of Constantine are rarely involved by decision makers in achieving urban development operations. All management decisions are local authorities (municipalities) and regional (wilaya). The progress of our research is focused in three main parts: The evolution of the metropolis and urban centrality in Constantine Regulations and planning policies adopted Urban centrality: practices and perspectives mutations.