Opinion | The shift from invited to invented spaces: A warning of the unled revolution

The recent wave of citizen-led protests and door-to-door “inspections” by local groups targeting illegal foreign nationals in South Africa is more than just a security concern. It is a profound symptom of a representative democracy in crisis. In democratic theory, we speak of “invited spaces” — the formal channels like public hearings, Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meetings, petitions and the ballot box — where the state asks citizens to voice their grievances.

However, when these spaces are perceived as hollow, where opinions are heard but never acted upon, the social contract frays. When freedom of opinion yields no change, the people stop talking to officials and start talking to each other. For the person on the street, those invited spaces, those polite, formal channels, have become graveyards for hope.

What we are witnessing is the birth of invented spaces. Frustrated by the perceived failure of the state to manage borders and internal security, citizens have moved from mere expression of freedom of opinion to a radical form of active monitoring. Protests in Pietermaritzburg and other areas in KwaZulu-Natal throughout March and April, were a desperate attempt to force a response from a leadership that seems increasingly distant.

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These ranged from the massive march starting at King Dinizulu Park to the Durban City Hall on March 25, followed by a tense “clean-up” campaign in the Durban CBD on April 14. Tensions also flared in Mpophomeni on April 8, when shops were stormed at a local shopping centre, and in Imbali on March 21, where community members forced out shop owners. The message from groups like Operation Dudula and March and March is clear: There is a profound frustration with the perceived lack of enforcement regarding undocumented immigration. But there is a darker horizon.

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