SUBSTITUTING FOR THE STATE: The sovereignty impacts of diverse citizens’ off‐grid infrastructure strategies in South Africa

Anciano, Fiona, Lemanski, Charlotte, Culwick Fatti, Christina and Rubin, Margot ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9330-8308 2025. SUBSTITUTING FOR THE STATE: The sovereignty impacts of diverse citizens’ off‐grid infrastructure strategies in South Africa. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 10.1111/1468-2427.70001

PDF - Published Version Download (195kB)

Abstract

In South Africa, citizens in both low‐ and high‐income areas are increasingly providing their own services to mitigate the unreliability, unaffordability and inaccessibility of state services. This article examines diverse case studies across socio‐economic and residential typologies to explore shifts in service provision responsibilities from the state to the citizen. Applying an interdisciplinary approach, this article considers the political impacts of these strategies, arguing that the ways in which citizens supplement and substitute for the state contests and (re)negotiates spaces of sovereignty. While urban studies overwhelmingly analyse these actions through the lens of informality, we argue that sovereignty (the supreme authority of a state to govern itself without external interference) offers a less binary analytical lens. State substitution is increasingly a daily act for many, not only in low‐income settlements but also among elites. The article further examines state responses to citizen‐led actions in supplementing or substituting services, demonstrating how they range from inaction to permissive negotiation and, rarely, repression. Thus, the political impact of service substitution requires deeper reflection, raising questions regarding the nature of the state and the social contract.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0309-1317
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 July 2025
Date of Acceptance:	8 April 2025
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2025 11:16
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179962

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item