From fragmentation to Social Cohesion: Potentialities of the Comrades Marathon in South Africa

From fragmentation to Social Cohesion: Potentialities of the Comrades Marathon in South Africa

Lungile Prudence Zondi

Issue: Vol.6 No.14 Article 28 pp.3780 – 3792
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561428 | Published online 30th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This paper critically examined the Comrades Marathon as a complex nation-building event that operates as a significant site of social cohesion and democratic renewal in South Africa. Employing a critical autoethnographic methodology, the analysis is grounded in reflexive engagement with lived experience, affective memory, and social positioning related to participation in the marathon. The study is informed by an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that integrates Victor Turner’s concept of communitas, Social Cohesion Theory, and Social Network Theory. These frameworks enabled a nuanced understanding of how ritualized events operate as affective and symbolic spaces that mediate collective identity and solidarity. Findings revealed that the Comrades Marathon generates liminal spaces in which entrenched social hierarchies, particularly those based on race, class, and gender, are temporarily suspended. The symbolic act of crossing the finish line, coupled with communal celebration, constitutes a performative moment that transcends individual accomplishment and cultivates horizontal social bonds and mutual respect across difference. The paper argued that ritualized sporting events such as the Comrades Marathon function as critical platforms for social integration and cohesion, reinforcing democratic legitimacy and fostering values such as inclusion, accountability, and civic engagement. The study recommends that scholars and policymakers conceptualize social cohesion not only as a response to historical injustice, but also as essential to sustaining and deepening democratic governance. This paper contributes to the scholarship of social cohesion by offering an embodied, affect-driven analysis of sport as ritual, expanding theoretical discussions of nation-building and social integration. It demonstrates how sports events can serve as transformative arenas for democratic resilience in pluralistic societies.

Keywords: Comrade Marathon, Democracy, Social Cohesion, Nation Building

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Dr Lungile Prudence Zondi (affectionately known as Balungile) is an anthropologist and researcher based in South Africa whose work focuses on women, social cohesion, and community well-being. She investigates how principles of Ubuntu, indigenous knowledge systems, and cultural practices intersect with governance, social inclusion, and sustainable development. Her research highlights the resilience and agency of marginalized communities, particularly women, and explores how local knowledge and collective values can inform equitable policy and participatory governance. Dr Zondi is particularly interested in understanding the ways communities negotiate identity, social responsibility, and ethical leadership in post-apartheid South Africa. Through her scholarship, she seeks to bridge academic research with practical interventions that promote justice, inclusion, and social transformation.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Zondi, Lungile Prudence.“ From fragmentation to Social Cohesion: Potentialities of the Comrades Marathon in South Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 14 (2025): 3780 – 3792, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561428.