Attitudes towards foreigners in South Africa : a longitudinal study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Topics surrounding migration and the presence of foreigners in South Africa are rapidly gaining importance in light of the occurrences and developments in the country, such as the increasing number of foreigners coming to South Africa, the recent amendments to the immigration policy and more importantly, the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments witnessed across the country, as seen in 2008.While studies have been conducted with the aim of assessing attitudes toward immigrants and migration, longitudinal studies of this nature are rare. This study addresses the identified gap by assessing attitudes towards foreigners in South Africa between 1996 and 2013. This descriptive longitudinal study uses four waves of World Value Survey data in order to measure the trends in four dimensions of attitudes towards foreigners: (1) social tolerance; (2) interpersonal trust; (3) employment preference; and (4) attitudes toward migration. Adding to the descriptive nature of the study, seven independent variables are included to further understand the trends in the four dimensions. These variables include gender, race, employment status, education, perceived social class, generalised trust and financial satisfaction. Five conclusions are drawn from the study, four regarding the four dimensions measured and the other pertaining to the general trends in the data: (1) South Africans are becoming more intolerant of foreigners. (2) There are growing levels of distrust, not only of foreign workers/immigrants but also of people of another nationality. (3) South Africans are moving away from the idea that employment priority or preference is to be awarded to South African citizens over foreigners as more individuals are becoming either neutral or dismissive about the awarding of preference. (4) More South Africans are fostering positive attitudes towards migration although the greatest portion of respondents agree that foreigners are to be allowed into South Africa on the condition that certain criteria are met. (5) The biggest changes in the data are seen between 2006 and 2013. These changes can be linked to the outcomes of the global economic downturn in 2008 and the rise of xenophobic sentiments and violence towards foreigners in the same period.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University