Human Rights Careers

5 Essays About Xenophobia

The word “xenophobia” has ties to the Greek words “xenos,” which means “stranger or “guest,” and “phobos,” which means “fear” or “flight.” It makes sense that today we define “xenophobia” as a fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners. Xenophobia has always existed, but the world has experienced a surge in recent years. The essays described in this article provide examples of xenophobia, its ties to anti-immigration and nationalism, and how diseases like COVID-19 trigger prejudice.

“These charts show migrants aren’t South Africa’s biggest problem”

Abdi Latif Dahir  | Quartz Africa

Between March 29-April 2 in 2019, violence broke out in a South African municipality. Foreign nationals were targeted. Even though people were killed and businesses looted and destroyed, the police didn’t make any arrests. This represents a pattern of violence against foreigners who are mostly migrants from other places in Africa. Reporter Abdi Latif Dahir explains that these recent attacks are based on a belief that migrants cause South Africa’s economic and social problems. In this article from Quartz Africa, he outlines what people are blaming migrants for. As an example, while politicians claim that migrants are burdening the country, the data shows that migrants make up a very small percentage of the country.

Abdi Latif Dahir reports for Quartz Africa and speaks multiple languages. He also holds a master’s of arts degree in political journalism from Columbia University.

“Opinion: A rise in nationalism could hurt minorities”

Raveena Chaudhari | The Red and Black

Nationalism is on the rise in many countries around the world, including the US. The election of Donald Trump signaled a resurgence in nationalism, including white nationalism. In her essay, Raveena Chaudhari explains that far-right politics have been gaining steam in Western Europe since the 1980s. The US is just following the trend. She also uses the terms “patriotism,” which is an important part of the American identity, and “nativism,” which is closely linked to a fear of immigrants and diversity. Xenophobia easily emerges from these ideas. Minorities feel the consequences of a rise in nationalism most keenly. Raveena Chaudhari is a junior accounting major and staff writer for The Red and Black, a nonprofit corporation that circulates the largest college newspaper in Georgia. For 87 years, it operated under the University of Georgia but is now independent of the college.

“The Deep Roots of Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Policies”

Daniel Denvir | Jacobin

In this essay, author Daniel Denvir digs into the background of President Trump’s anti-immigration policies. At the time of this piece’s writing, the Supreme Court had allowed the administration to exclude certain groups from entering the United States. The travel ban has been labeled the “Muslim ban.” Where did these anti-immigrant views come from? They aren’t original to Donald Trump. Denvir outlines the history of racist and xenophobic policies that paint immigrants as a threat to America. Knowing that these views are ingrained in American society is important if we want change.

Daniel Denvir is the host of “The Dig” on Jacobin Radio and the author of All-American Nativism, a critique of nativists and moderate Democrats.

“Nationalism isn’t xenophobia, but it’s just as bad” 

Jeffrey Friedman | Niskanen Center

If you’re unsure what the difference is between nationalism and xenophobia, this essay can help clarify things. Written in 2017, this piece starts by examining surveys and studies measuring how xenophobic Trump supporters are. They also explore the reasons why people oppose illegal/legal immigration. The core of the essay, though, takes a look at nationalism vs. xenophobia. While different, Friedman argues that they are both irrational. The distinction is important as it reveals common ground between Trump supporters and Trump opponents. What does this mean?

Jeffrey Friedman is a visiting scholar in the Charles and Louise Tarver Department of Political Science at the University of California. He’s also an editor and author.

Xenophobia ‘Is A Pre-Existing Condition.’ How Harmful Stereotypes and Racism are Spreading Around the Coronavirus 

Jasmine Aguilera | Time

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the world, there’s been a surge in racism against people of Asian descent. In her essay, Jasmine Aguilera relates examples of this discrimination, as well as responses as people take to social media to combat xenophobia. Reacting with racism to a disease is not a new phenomenon. It’s happened in the past with SARS, Ebola, and H1N1. Society always looks for a scapegoat and minorities usually suffer. This has an impact on a population’s health, livelihood, and safety.

Jasmine Aguilera is a contributor to Time Magazine. She has written several articles about COVID-19 for the publication.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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Xenophobia: The Fear of Strangers

Adah Chung is a fact checker, writer, researcher, and occupational therapist. 

essay for xenophobia

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  • Fighting Xenophobia

What Is the Opposite of Xenophobic?

Xenophobia, or fear of strangers, is a broad term that may be applied to any fear of someone different from an individual. Hostility towards outsiders is often a reaction to fear. It typically involves the belief that there is a conflict between an individual's ingroup and an outgroup.

Xenophobia often overlaps with forms of prejudice , including racism and homophobia , but there are important distinctions. Where racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination are based on specific characteristics, xenophobia is usually rooted in the perception that members of the outgroup are foreign to the ingroup community.

Whether xenophobia qualifies as a legitimate mental disorder is a subject of ongoing debate.

Xenophobia is also associated with large-scale acts of destruction and violence against groups of people.

Signs of Xenophobia

How can you tell if someone is xenophobic? While xenophobia can be expressed in different ways, typical signs include:

  • Feeling uncomfortable around people who fall into a different group
  • Going to great lengths to avoid particular areas
  • Refusing to be friends with people solely due to their skin color, mode of dress, or other external factors
  • Difficulty taking a supervisor seriously or connecting with a teammate who does not fall into the same racial, cultural, or religious group

While it may represent a true fear, most xenophobic people do not have a true phobia. Instead, the term is most often used to describe people who discriminate against foreigners and immigrants.

People who express xenophobia typically believe that their culture or nation is superior, want to keep immigrants out of their community, and may even engage in actions that are detrimental to those who are perceived as outsiders.

Is Xenophobia a Mental Disorder?

Xenophobia is not recognized as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, some psychologists and psychiatrists have suggested that extreme racism and prejudice should be recognized as a mental health problem.

Some have argued, for example, that extreme forms of prejudice should be considered a subtype of delusional disorder .   It is important to note that those who support this viewpoint also argue that prejudice only becomes pathological when it creates a significant disruption in a person's ability to function in daily life.

Other professionals argue that categorizing xenophobia or racism as a mental illness would be medicalizing a social problem.  

Types of Xenophobia

There are two primary types of xenophobia:

  • Cultural xenophobia : This type involves rejecting objects, traditions, or symbols that are associated with another group or nationality. This can include language, clothing, music, and other traditions associated with the culture.
  • Immigrant xenophobia : This type involves rejecting people who the xenophobic individual does not believe belongs in the ingroup society. This can involve rejecting people of different religions or nationalities and can lead to persecution, hostility, violence, and even genocide.

The desire to belong to a group is pervasive—and strong identification with a particular group can even be healthy. However, it may also lead to suspicion of those who are perceived to not belong.

It is natural and possibly instinctive to want to protect the interests of the group by eliminating threats to those interests. Unfortunately, this natural protectiveness often causes members of a group to shun or even attack those who are perceived as different, even if they actually pose no legitimate threat at all.

Xenophobia vs. Racism

Xenophobia and racism are similar in that they both involve prejudice and discrimination, but there are important differences to consider. Where xenophobia is the fear of anyone who is considered a foreigner, racism is specifically directed toward people based on their race or ethnicity. People can be both xenophobic and racist.

Examples of Xenophobia

Unfortunately, xenophobia is all too common. It can range from covert acts of discrimination or subtle comments to overt acts of prejudice or even violence . Some examples of xenophobia include:

  • Immigration policies : Xenophobia can influence how nations deal with immigration. This may include hostility and outright discrimination against immigrants. Specific groups of people may be the target of bans designed to keep them from moving to certain locations.
  • Displacement : In the U.S., the forcible removal of Indigenous people from their land is an example of xenophobia. The use of residential schools in the U.S. and Canada was also rooted in xenophobic attitudes and was designed to force the cultural assimilation of Native American people.
  • Violence : For example, attacks on people of Asian descent have increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Causes of Xenophobia

There are a number of different factors believed to contribute to xenophobia: 

  • Social and economic insecurity : People often look for someone to blame in times of economic hardship or social upheaval. Immigrants and minorities are often scapegoated as the cause of society's ills.
  • Lack of contact : People with little or no contact with people from other cultures or backgrounds are more likely to be fearful or mistrustful of them.
  • Media portrayals : The way immigrants and minorities are portrayed in the media can also influence people's attitudes towards them. If they are only shown in a negative light, it can reinforce people's prejudices.
  • Fear of strangers : In general, people are more likely to be afraid of unfamiliar things. This can apply to both physical appearance and cultural differences.

Impact of Xenophobia

Xenophobia doesn't just affect people at the individual level. It affects entire societies, including cultural attitudes, economics, politics, and history. Examples of xenophobia in the United States include acts of discrimination and violence against Latinx, Mexican, and Middle Eastern immigrants.

Xenophobia has been linked to:

  • Hostility towards people of different backgrounds
  • Decreased social and economic opportunity for outgroups
  • Implicit bias toward members of outgroups
  • Isolationism
  • Discrimination
  • Hate crimes
  • Political positions
  • War and genocide
  • Controversial domestic and foreign policies

Certainly, not everyone who is xenophobic starts wars or commits hate crimes. But even veiled xenophobia can have insidious effects on both individuals and society. These attitudes can make it more difficult for people in certain groups to live within a society and affect all aspects of life including housing access , employment opportunities, and healthcare access.

The twisting of a positive trait (group harmony and protection from threats) into a negative (imagining threats where none exist) has led to any number of hate crimes, persecutions, wars, and general mistrust.

Xenophobia has a great potential to cause damage to others, rather than affecting only those who hold these attitudes.

How to Combat Xenophobia

If you struggle with feelings of xenophobia, there are things that you can do to overcome these attitudes.

  • Broaden your experience. Many people who display xenophobia have lived relatively sheltered lives with little exposure to those who are different from them. Traveling to different parts of the world, or even spending time in a nearby city, might go a long way toward helping you face your fears.
  • Fight your fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown is one of the most powerful fears of all. If you have not been exposed to other races, cultures, and religions, gaining more experience may be helpful in conquering your xenophobia.
  • Pay attention. Notice when xenophobic thoughts happen. Make a conscious effort to replace these thoughts with more realistic ones.

If your or a loved one's xenophobia is more pervasive, recurring despite exposure to a wide variety of cultures, then professional treatment might be in order. Choose a therapist who is open-minded and interested in working with you for a long period of time.

Xenophobia is often deeply rooted in a combination of upbringing, religious teachings, and previous experiences. Successfully combating xenophobia generally means confronting numerous aspects of the personality and learning new ways of experiencing the world.

While xenophobia describes a fear of strangers, foreigners, or immigrants, xenophilia, or the act of being xenophilic, describes an appreciation and attraction to foreign people or customs.

History of Xenophobia

Xenophobia has played a role in shaping human history for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Romans used their beliefs that their cultures were superior to justify the enslavement of others. Many nations throughout the world have a history of xenophobic attitudes toward foreigners and immigrants. 

The term xenophobia originates from the Greek word xenos meaning "stranger" and phobos meaning "fear.

Xenophobia has also led to acts of discrimination, violence, and genocide throughout the world, including:

  • The World War II Holocaust 
  • The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
  • The Rwandan genocide
  • The Holodomor genocide in Ukraine
  • The Cambodian genocide

Recent examples in the United States include discrimination toward people of Middle Eastern descent (often referred to as "Islamophobia") and xenophobic attitudes towards Mexican and Latinx immigrants. The COVID-19 pandemic also led to reports of xenophobia directed toward people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent in countries throughout the world.

Suleman S, Garber K, Rutkow L. Xenophobia as a determinant of health: An integrative review . J Public Health Policy . 2018;39(4):407-423. doi:10.1057/s41271-018-0140-1

Choane M, Shulika LS, Mthombeni M. An analysis of the causes, effects and ramifications of xenophobia in South Africa . Insight Afr . 2011;3(2):12-142.

Poussaint AF. Is extreme racism a mental illness? Yes: It can be a delusional symptom of psychotic disorders .  West J Med . 2002;176(1):4. doi:10.1136/ewjm.176.1.4

Bell C. Racism: A mental illness? . Psychiatr Serv . 2004;55(12):1343. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.55.12.1343

Baumeister RF, Leary MR. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation . Psychol Bull . 1995;117(3):497-529.

National Cancer Institute. Let's talk about xenophobia and anti-Asian hate crimes .

Klein JR. Xenophobia and crime . In: Miller JM, ed. The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology . Oxford: Blackwell Publishing; 2014. doi:10.1002/9781118517390.wbetc094

Merriam-Webster. ' Xenophobia' vs. 'racism .'

Romero LA, Zarrugh A. Islamophobia and the making of Latinos/as into terrorist threats . Ethnic Racial Stud . 2018;12:2235-2254. doi:10.1080/01419870.2017.1349919

American Medical Association. AMA warns against racism, xenophobia amid COVID-19 .

By Lisa Fritscher Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.

What Is Xenophobia? Types & Effects

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

On This Page:

Xenophobia refers to the fear, hatred, or prejudice against strangers or people perceived as foreign or different from one’s community or culture. It involves hostility and perceived conflict towards those considered an “outgroup.”

Xenophobia originates from the Greek words “xenos” meaning “stranger” and “phobos” meaning “fear.” So, in literal terms, it describes fear of strangers.

However, in common usage, xenophobia also encompasses general discrimination, negative attitudes, and hostile behaviors towards immigrants, foreigners, and cultural outsiders.

a woman looking sad while several hands point towards her

What is Xenophobia?

Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of people perceived as being different from oneself. This can be based on a person’s race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or other distinguishing characteristics.

Xenophobia can often lead to discriminatory behaviors and attitudes, such as prejudice, racism, and even violence. It is important to recognize and address xenophobia, as it can have harmful effects on individuals and society as a whole.

This can typically stem from the deep-rooted belief that there is a conflict between the individual’s ingroup and the outgroups.

Someone xenophobic may feel uncomfortable being in the presence of people from a different group, refuse to be friends or associate with these individuals, may not take outgroup individuals seriously, or may believe their ingroup is superior to the outgroup.

While racism is the belief that one race is superior to another, xenophobia is the hatred of outsiders based on fear, which could then result in feelings of superiority over those outsiders.

Xenophobia is an issue as this type of thinking separates people into insiders and outsiders, which can ultimately cause attitudes such as fear, hate, and humiliation.

Xenophobia could also result in people feeling excluded from the culture they wish to live in or even violence in the most extreme cases. Xenophobia can, therefore, lead to negative experiences at the individual and the social level.

Is it a Mental Disorder?

Xenophobia is not recognized as a mental health condition since there are no criteria for it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Some researchers have debated whether xenophobia should be given its own criteria or made a sub-type of another condition. Poussaint (2002) suggested that extreme xenophobic attitudes should be considered a sub-type of delusional disorder.

The reasoning behind this is that extreme violence because of xenophobia should be indicative of a mental health condition, and not viewing extreme xenophobia as pathological can normalize and legitimize these views.

The researcher, therefore, proposes there be a ‘Prejudice type’ under the criteria of delusional disorder, which can account for extreme xenophobic attitudes and behaviors.

In contrast, others have maintained that extreme xenophobia should not be labeled as a mental health condition, as they argue it is a social problem rather than a health issue (Bell, 2004).

While xenophobia contains the word ‘phobia,’ a diagnosable mental health condition, it is not suggested to be as extreme as other clinical phobias people may experience, such as agoraphobia or claustrophobia.

While it is possible to have a clinical fear of strangers, these individuals would fear all strangers, including those that would be of the same race, ethnicity, and culture as them. People with a fear of all strangers would experience anxious symptoms associated with phobias even while only thinking of strangers.

They would also try to avoid all strangers as much as possible. Therefore, the condition would be significantly detrimental to their lives.

While xenophobia is not a diagnosable mental health condition, it can become a symptom of other mental health conditions. For instance, extreme racist views which stem from xenophobia could be a symptom of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

Likewise, xenophobia could be because of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If someone develops PTSD after experiencing terrorism and violence in another country, they could then develop xenophobia attitudes because of that experience.

Types of Xenophobia

There are two main types of xenophobia:

Cultural Xenophobia

Individuals who have culturally xenophobic views may reject objects, traditions, or symbols which are associated with another group.

For instance, this could be clothing that is traditional of another culture, different languages, or traditional music of another culture.

Culturally xenophobic people may believe their own cultures and traditions are superior to those belonging to other groups.

This type of xenophobia may present as people making negative remarks about culturally traditional clothing or making derogatory comments when people speak another language around them.

Immigrant Xenophobia

Individuals who express immigrant xenophobia may reject people or groups of people who they believe do not fit in with their ingroup society.

This may involve rejecting people who have different religions or nationalities and avoiding people who have different skin colors to them.

Individuals with this type of xenophobia may consider people in their own social or cultural group as being superior to others, avoid places heavily populated by immigrants, or make negative comments about people who belong to other cultures or countries.

The cause of xenophobia can be complicated. Evolutionary psychologists may argue that xenophobia may be a part of the genetic behavioral heritage because fear of outside groups protected ancestral humans from threat.

Due to this, we may still have a predisposition to being wary of outgroups and may feel more inclined to spend our time with those who are like us. This has also been demonstrated in experiments using the ‘Strange Situation.’

In these classic studies, infants were shown to have anxiety (e.g., crying, not wanting to go near the stranger) when left in a room with a stranger compared to someone familiar.

Factors that affect xenophobic attitudes are mainly considered internal and external. Internal factors are genetics and personality traits, while environmental factors are within the range of intergroup relations and education.

A study by Kocaturk and Bozdag (2020) investigated the relationship between personality traits and xenophobic attitudes. They found that those who had high scores of ‘agreeableness,’ which is associated with compassion and kindness, had lower levels of xenophobic attitudes.

In comparison, those who scored highly on narcissism and psychopathy were shown to be linked with higher levels of xenophobic attitudes.

While some people may be more predisposed to be xenophobic, a lot of the attitudes are a learned response. For instance, if people grow up with families who are xenophobic, they will likely pass on these beliefs to their children.

Similarly, if people are brought up in areas with little diversity or went to school with primarily people who were of the same culture and race or spoke the same language as them, they may not be as knowledgeable of people outside of their own culture or nationality.

This lack of knowledge may also affect the tolerance someone may have of other people, and there may be a stronger sense of ingroup and outgroup.

Social media and news outlets could also fuel xenophobic attitudes, such as politicians using political propaganda to weaponize xenophobia to manipulate emotional tensions within a community to further their agenda. Social media can make it easier than ever to find like-minded individuals and communities who have the same xenophobic attitudes.

Also, social media could influence individuals’ opinions if something is presented to them in a way that can sway views.

Previously tolerant individuals might become exposed to intolerant views, which can shift their opinions in the same way that those with intolerant views may find information that makes their views more extreme (Bursztyn et al., 2019).

Xenophobic attitudes can have a wider impact on societies, including cultural attitudes, economics, politics, and history.

Xenophobia has been linked to the following:

War and genocide

Hostility towards ‘others.’

Decreased social and economic growth for outgroups

Discrimination

Hate crimes

The spread of false information about certain cultures

Controversial policies

Those experiencing xenophobic attitudes towards them may find it difficult to live in their society. They may have fewer job opportunities, housing access, and rights than others.

This could negatively affect their mental health, making them feel socially isolated or depressed.

They may also feel unsafe, dismissed, disconnected, and constantly feel like they are being threatened.

A study on experiences of xenophobia among U.S. Chinese older adults found that they had increased levels of depression, poorer health, an increased risk of isolation, and was more likely to have suicidal ideation (Dong, Chen, & Simon, 2014).

On the other hand, those who express xenophobic views may also face negative impacts. They could lose friends with people who do not share their views or even lose their job, in extreme cases, if their xenophobic actions are reported. This may also result in these individuals feeling socially isolated or depressed.

Current issues could also strengthen xenophobic attitudes and cause negative impacts. For instance, the increase in immigration over the years on a global scale may have strengthened xenophobic attitudes (Yakushko, 2009).

The terrorist attack of 9/11 in New York was followed by anti-Muslim xenophobia. Likewise, the European Union referendum in Britain in 2016 also saw a significant increase in xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants, with a 41% reported increase in racially aggravated offenses in June 2016 compared to June 2015 (Home Office, 2016).

More recently, the outbreak of COVID-19 sparked an increase in xenophobic attitudes towards Asian communities, with more than 1700 anti-Asian hate incidents documented across the United States between March and May 2020 (Le, Cha, Han, & Tseng, 2020).

Combating Xenophobia

For those who have xenophobic attitudes, it may be beneficial to undergo a type of therapy that would alter the incorrect and harmful perceptions they have of others.

A lot of xenophobia could have stemmed from deep-rooted core beliefs that may be difficult to change. If someone with these beliefs wants therapy, the therapists should provide a non-judgemental approach to help the individual.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) utilizes methods to challenge unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and aims to adjust these to more realistic or helpful ones.

This could also work if the person with xenophobia experiences anxiety or irrational fears of other people.

Anger management

Also, anger management could be an option for those who are more prone to violent or threatening outbursts towards those who are not a part of their ingroup.

Through anger management, individuals can learn skills to manage their negative emotions like fear and anxiety to overcome this.

Broaden experiences

Otherwise, those who recognize and want to change their xenophobic attitudes may benefit from broadening their experiences. They could travel to other parts of their country or another country where the culture and language are different to help them with their tolerance of people who they consider different from them.

This could relate to exposure therapy, a common practice used with people who have phobias, with the idea that the more exposure one has to something fearful, the less fearful one will be over time.

Individuals could also educate themselves in other ways, such as watching documentaries that discuss other cultures, reading informative books, attending talks, or joining social groups for those wanting to learn more about different cultures, ethnicities, languages, etc.

Consider similarities with the ‘outgroup’

Additionally, when talking to individuals that would have been considered part of the ‘outgroup,’ it may be useful to search for similarities with that person, such as shared interests.

This could increase how much they relate to others as they may notice that there are a lot more similarities between people than they originally thought.

They could also try to learn something from people they encounter, such as understanding situations from another’s perspective.

The less unknown people become, the less likely the individual will feel uncomfortable around them.

Coping With Xenophobia

If someone has experienced xenophobic comments directed towards them and this is affecting their mental health, they may also consider therapy depending on how severely affected they feel.

If individuals are experiencing depression or anxiety because of xenophobia, they could be prescribed anti-depressants to help combat some of the symptoms. However, this may not always be recommended as the first response to mental health issues.

They may also consider counseling or group therapy to discuss how they are feeling and to find ways to manage their negative feelings.

Online communities and support groups are another way to find like-minded individuals who may have had similar experiences. These groups can provide a safe space to be heard and reminded that they are not alone.

For anyone who is noticing xenophobia in society, it may be useful to call out xenophobic comments or intervene if safe to do so. This can inform the person who is being xenophobic that their behavior is problematic, and they may be less likely to repeat their behavior.

Since xenophobic attitudes can begin in childhood, it may be beneficial to educate children at a young age to help prevent deep-rooted xenophobia from taking form.

Speaking honestly with children about xenophobia could help them learn to challenge this behavior if they notice it, such as speaking up for a child in their class who may become a target.

Finally, other ways to tackle xenophobia are to report incidents if safe to do so, both in public and online, share stories about xenophobic experiences to increase awareness, call out news outlets if they are using xenophobic language, and support human rights organizations.

Further Information

Choane, M., Shulika, L. S., & Mthombeni, M. (2011). An analysis of the causes, effects and ramifications of xenophobia in South Africa. Insight on Africa, 3(2), 129-142.

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological bulletin, 117(3), 497.

Bell, C. (2004). Racism: A mental illness?. Psychiatric Services, 55(12), 1343-1343.

Bursztyn, L., Egorov, G., Enikolopov, R., & Petrova, M. (2019). Social media and xenophobia: evidence from Russia (No. w26567). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Corcoran, H., Lader, D., & Smith, K. (2016). Hate Crime, England and Wales . Statistical bulletin, 5, 15.

Dong, X., Chen, R., & Simon, M. A. (2014). Experience of discrimination among US Chinese older adults. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biomedical Sciences and Medical Sciences, 69 (Suppl_2), S76-S81.

Kocaturk, M., & Bozdag, F. (2020). Xenophobia among University Students: Its Relationship with Five Factor Model and Dark Triad Personality Traits. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 6 (3), 545-554.

Le, T. K., Cha, L., Han, H. R., & Tseng, W. (2020). Anti-Asian xenophobia and Asian American COVID-19 disparities .

Poussaint, A. F. (2002). Yes: it can be a delusional symptom of psychotic disorders. The Western journal of medicine, 176 (1), 4-4.

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Historian Erika Lee

“I really believe in the power of storytelling to change the ways in which people think about immigration and to challenge xenophobia and racism,” says Erika Lee. Photo by: Lisa Miller/University of Minnesota

The Long History of Xenophobia in America

From colonial times to today, the demonization of outsiders has existed alongside the idea of the U.S. as a nation built by immigrants

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants—and seemingly also always a nation suffused with xenophobia, a fear or hatred of those same immigrants.

In 1750, Benjamin Franklin worried that large numbers of “swarthy” foreigners, speaking their own language among themselves, would swamp the colonies and their British subjects. The dangerous outsiders? They were Germans.

Erika Lee, J91, tells that story, among many others, in her award-winning book America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States , published last year. Regents Professor and the director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Lee says it’s important to know this complex history to be able to overcome it.  

“Xenophobia doesn’t just reveal itself through a bigoted relative who is saying stuff about ‘the Mexicans’ at Thanksgiving dinner,” says Lee. “Xenophobia is a form of racism that has been embedded in our laws.”

One way to overcome the alienation that xenophobia brings is to combat the negative stereotypes about immigrants and refugees, and help see them as fellow human beings just like us, Lee says. She leads an effort to do just that, with the Immigrant Stories digital storytelling project. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the project’s 350 digital stories profile immigrants as “real people, not stereotypes,” she says.

Xenophobia in America

Video by: Jenna Schad

When Lee was at Tufts as an undergraduate, she focused on history, and created her own major in ethnic studies, with advisor Reed Ueda, a professor of history. She also taught a course on the Civil Rights Movement in the Experimental College , “which made me realize how much I love teaching,” she says. “I’m forever grateful for that education.”

With a parade of anti-immigrant measures coming out of Washington, it’s more important than ever to understand what lies behind the xenophobia in this country, Lee says. Tufts Now spoke with her to learn more about that history—and what can be done to overcome it.

Tufts Now : The United States has a very long history of xenophobia, as you document in your book. And yet most Americans don’t know about it. Why is that?

Erika Lee : This is one of the most important questions to ask, because it speaks to why and how xenophobia can persist and endure. We don’t recognize what a strong and pervasive force it has been—or we discount it or willingly ignore it.

But I think it also speaks to a much larger question about history, memory, and the uses of history in crafting our understanding of ourselves.

One of the most important things about xenophobia is that it’s a shapeshifting, wily thing, just like racism. You think it’s gone away, and it comes back. It evolves so that even though one immigrant group finally gains acceptance, it can easily be applied to another.

And sometimes the group that just made it can be very active in leading the charge against the others. It’s unfortunately one of the ways in which racism and our racial hierarchy are at work in the United States.

Are some classes of Americans more xenophobic than others?

I would say that xenophobia flourishes in every community and in every class. One of the great examples of this is Chinese immigration and exclusion. In the book, I focus on the campaigns to drive Chinese people out of Seattle in the late 1800s. There was mob violence that was led by those whom we have been accustomed to identify as working-class whites.

And then there were the more “polite” campaigns, the ones that were led by judges, lawyers, professionals who basically told the agitators, “We agree with you. The Chinese must go, but do we need to resort to lawlessness? How about we organize a campaign of intimidation? Let’s blacklist the housewives—the employers who hire Chinese people, and publish their names in the newspaper. And let’s make it so just horrific to live in Seattle if you’re Chinese that they will self deport.”

Before studying this history, I don’t think I completely understood the depth of that cross-class racism, and the ways in which it can manifest itself differently.

Is the same true about racism in more recent times?

Yes! There are lots of examples of liberal and progressive xenophobia and racism. When I was researching the history behind 1965 Immigration Act—a law that was praised for formally ending discrimination in immigration law and reopening up the country to immigrants—I was struck by how lawmakers could still restrict immigration from the Western hemisphere in what was essentially a Civil Rights law. They described the U.S. being ‘overrun by black and brown immigrants’ at the same time that they insisted on the need to end discrimination.

It seems that this fear of being displaced pushes some lawmakers and others to double down against certain immigrants, especially those from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Immigration is treated as a zero-sum game; new immigration is a threat to us already here. We can’t both gain at the same time. Your gain is my loss.

You write in the book that xenophobia is a form of racism. How does that work—and has it changed over time?

essay for xenophobia

Racism identifies certain groups as good and superior to others. In the early 20th century, it was considered a matter of biology. Today, we often talk about it as being a matter of “culture.” There are “good immigrants” and there are “bad immigrants” who are a threat to “us.” The dividing line between “good” and “bad” has been marked by religion, national origin, class, gender, and sexual orientation. But especially race.

This relationship between xenophobia is a legacy of the racism that justified slavery and settler colonialism. In fact, early immigrants were always judged in relationship to their place on that spectrum of whiteness and blackness.

For example, Germans were first labeled “swarthy,” a term that was meant to signify blackness and to imply that German immigration was undesirable. But we never restricted their immigration or their ability to become naturalized citizens.

Cartoons of Irish Catholics from the 19th century make them look very similar to apes. This was effective in marking the Irish as a threat, because African Americans were already drawn in similar stereotypical and dehumanizing ways. But again, we never restricted Irish immigration or prohibited them from becoming naturalized citizens.

But then the Chinese came, and here we can see the difference that race makes. The Chinese were automatically seen as more like Native Americans and African Americans than European immigrants. The Chinese were excluded and barred from becoming naturalized citizens.

Xenophobia has influenced government policy from the time of Benjamin Franklin right up to the present. Do you think it is worse now?

It is, but one of the things that I try to emphasize is that you could not have Donald Trump and his policies without Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. You couldn’t have so many Americans shouting “build the wall” without the 2006 Fence Act that George W. Bush signed into law, and that Barack Obama helped to implement, or without Operation Gatekeeper in 1994, which was put in place by Bill Clinton.

What is worse today is the explicit, unabashed, unapologetic, vitriolic language. That is a centerpiece of President Trump’s campaign, first in 2015 when he said Mexicans are rapists and criminals, to today where he’s doubling down on xenophobia ahead of the 2020 elections. He was just here in Minnesota and one of his favorite targets is Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Black woman—a U.S. citizen and a Democratic Congresswoman who he told to ‘go back’ to where she had come from last year.

Previous presidents’ policies certainly had been xenophobic, but they also gave lip service to the idea of the United States as a nation of immigrants, that diversity is a strength. You don’t get any of that with this president, and it makes a difference.

So this administration is more xenophobic than average?

The immigration policies that have been put into effect during this administration have been so numerous, so broad in their scope, and so cruel that they are unparalleled in any other period or other administration.

They have impacted every category of immigrant—from refugees, asylum seekers, illegal, and legal immigrants. And because they have been put in place by executive order, there has been no debate, no calling of witnesses, no rebuttal, no ability for experts, advocates, or lawmakers on either side to be able to contest the justification of the laws.

And that was before COVID-19. I’ve just finished compiling and analyzing the 63 different immigration-related executive actions that have been put in place since January 30, 2020. Sixty-three! They have effectively ended immigration in all forms under the guise of public health concerns even though the infection rates are much, much higher within our country than in any other. We have already identified this era as the most restrictive immigration era in U.S. history.

Has this very obvious xenophobia throughout U.S. history deterred immigrants?

Absolutely. It’s deterred people, and it has encouraged—even forced—people to return home. One of the other aspects of immigration history that we never focus enough attention on is how 30 percent of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, and especially amongst certain groups like Italians in the early 20th century, actually returned home. There could be many reasons for that—jobs that didn’t work out, failed marriages—but a lot of it was that they just didn’t feel welcome here.

Have you seen that personally?

One of the saddest things I’ve seen in the past few years is an internalization of xenophobia. I have volunteered in my kids’ public high school, helping mostly refugee students write their college essays. Here in Minneapolis, they are largely from Somalia.

In 2017, some of my students had been in this country for only four years. They learned English and were working two part-time jobs in addition to going to school. They had compelling personal stories, but when I read their essays, I noticed that they did not mention anything about being refugees.

I’d ask them, “Is there a reason why you don’t want to put that part of your story in your college essay? I think it is phenomenal.” They said, “I don’t want to because ‘refugee’ is a bad word, isn’t it? They won’t want me. Right?” And my heart just sank.

So yes, xenophobia absolutely has an impact. There’s the violence of xenophobia. Families being split apart, etc. But even if you’re not at risk of that, it can manifest itself in deeply personal ways.

While there are vocal anti-immigrant groups, who is advocating now for immigrants?

One of the things that has changed in recent years is that people are leading spontaneous and mass protests against many anti-immigrant measures. I’m sure you remember January 27th, 2017, the Friday that the Muslim ban was announced by the Trump administration.

It was late in the afternoon. By that evening, there were lawyers, advocates, and crowds of people at many of the international airports in the United States with “you are welcome here” signs.

This kind of mass protest didn’t happen before when we passed the Exclusion Act, when we deported Mexican and Mexican Americans during the Great Depression, when we interned Japanese Americans during World War II. These challenges and protests today are so fundamental and so important. They give me hope.

And of course, with the elections coming up, we have the chance to vote xenophobic politicians out of office.

And how can the view of immigrants be more positive, especially among those who fear the effects of immigration?

I think about this on a daily basis. I really want to try to change the narrative about immigration, to combat the threat narrative.

I direct the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota. It started 55 years ago as an immigrant archive. Its founders believed that it was necessary to document the experiences and life histories of what was then called the “new immigration” from southern, central, and eastern Europe. One goal was “to recover the full-bodied humanity of immigrants” through oral histories, research, and archive-building.

We are still working hard to achieve this mission in a new era of global migration. In 2012, I wanted to do the same for this new generation of immigrants and refugees, and especially the young people who were in my classrooms.

So my colleagues and I started the Immigrant Stories digital storytelling project, and it grew nationally and internationally. It’s a digital storytelling website that allows anyone anywhere to create, preserve, and share their story for free with video, audio, and text. There are now over 350 stories in the collection representing 55-plus ethnic groups.

I really believe in the power of storytelling to change the ways in which people think about immigration and to challenge xenophobia and racism. They help us see immigrants and refugees as real people, not stereotypes. And they remind us what unites us, rather than divides us.

Video: Erika Lee delivers the Commencement 2022 address.

Historian Erika Lee to Deliver Commencement Address for Class of 2022

Image from a March 27, 2021 rally in New York

Confronting the Legacy of Anti-Asian Racism in America

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Essay on Xenophobia

Students are often asked to write an essay on Xenophobia in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Xenophobia

Understanding xenophobia.

Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners. It’s a complex issue that can lead to discrimination, violence, and social conflict.

Causes of Xenophobia

Xenophobia can stem from various factors like cultural differences, economic competition, or historical conflicts. It’s often fueled by stereotypes and misinformation.

Impacts of Xenophobia

Xenophobia can harm individuals and communities, leading to social division and conflict. It can also hinder cultural diversity and mutual understanding.

Addressing Xenophobia

To combat xenophobia, it’s important to promote tolerance, diversity, and understanding. Education and open dialogue can play a key role in this process.

Also check:

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250 Words Essay on Xenophobia

Defining xenophobia.

Xenophobia, derived from the Greek words ‘xenos’ (strange) and ‘phobos’ (fear), is the irrational or unreasoned fear of that which is perceived as different or foreign. It is a social phenomenon that manifests in numerous ways, primarily through attitudes of prejudice and discrimination.

The Roots of Xenophobia

Xenophobia is deeply rooted in human psychology and societal structures. It can be traced back to our evolutionary past, where in-group favouritism and out-group hostility were survival mechanisms. In modern times, xenophobia often arises from economic, political, and social insecurities, creating scapegoats for complex issues.

Xenophobia’s Impact on Society

Xenophobia’s impact is far-reaching and detrimental. It fosters social division, fuels hate crimes, and hinders cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Additionally, it can lead to policies that are discriminatory and violate human rights.

Combating Xenophobia

Addressing xenophobia requires a multi-faceted approach. Education plays a crucial role in challenging stereotypes and fostering understanding. Policies promoting diversity and inclusivity can also help. Moreover, media has a responsibility to portray diverse groups accurately and sensitively.

In an increasingly globalized world, xenophobia is a hurdle to unity and progress. As we strive for a more inclusive and understanding society, it is paramount to confront and challenge xenophobic attitudes wherever they appear.

500 Words Essay on Xenophobia

Introduction.

Xenophobia, derived from the Greek words ‘xenos’ meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner’ and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear’, is an intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. It manifests in many ways, ranging from bias and prejudice to violence and hate crimes. Xenophobia is a complex and multifaceted issue that has significant socio-cultural and political implications.

Historical Context and Causes

Xenophobia is not a new phenomenon. It has been prevalent throughout history, often exacerbated during times of economic hardship, political instability, or when a society feels its identity is under threat. The causes of xenophobia are multifaceted, often rooted in ignorance, misinformation, and fear. It can stem from a perceived threat to a community’s economic status, cultural identity, or social cohesion.

The impacts of xenophobia are far-reaching and destructive, affecting individuals and communities on multiple levels. At an individual level, victims of xenophobia can experience psychological trauma, social isolation, and economic disadvantage. On a societal level, xenophobia can lead to social division, conflict, and can undermine social cohesion. It can also negatively impact a nation’s reputation and relationships with other countries.

Xenophobia and Globalization

In the age of globalization, where the world is more interconnected than ever, xenophobia poses a significant challenge. As people move across borders for work, education, or refuge, they often encounter unfamiliar cultures and societies. This increased diversity can lead to tension and fear, fueling xenophobia. However, globalization also provides an opportunity for increased understanding and tolerance, as exposure to different cultures can challenge pre-existing stereotypes and biases.

Addressing xenophobia requires a multifaceted approach. Education plays a crucial role in combating ignorance and misinformation that often fuels xenophobia. Schools and universities should promote cultural understanding and tolerance, encouraging students to challenge their biases and stereotypes. Governments have a responsibility to enact and enforce laws that protect individuals from hate crimes and discrimination. The media also plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and should strive to present balanced and accurate depictions of different cultures and communities.

Xenophobia is a complex and pervasive issue with significant implications for individuals and societies. It is a product of fear and ignorance, often exacerbated by economic hardship and political instability. However, through education, legislation, and responsible media representation, it is possible to challenge xenophobia and promote a more inclusive and tolerant society. In the age of globalization, it is more important than ever to address xenophobia and strive for a world where diversity is celebrated rather than feared.

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Xenophobia in American Society

Xenophobia, racism, and gender discrimination are, unfortunately, common tendencies in the world, which hinder people’s equal rights. This inequality in American society is the most noticeable, since many people face discrimination, disrespect, and even violence because of their skin color or religion at the same time with democratic values’ proclamation. This paradox one can notice throughout history, since the country that is practically formed by immigrants rejects them and fears. Consequently, American xenophobia is a habit of the past that people cannot overcome for centuries.

Modern xenophobia is not much different from the processes that took place centuries ago, although it would seem that progressive American society must overcome its bias and prejudice. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the American government created the conditions for foreigners to fill the labor shortage and boost the American economy. Next, they deported foreigners from their country as soon as labor was no longer needed, and the workers became “job thieves.” Today, the government proposes to build a wall, refuse visas to residents of Arab countries, and does its best to protect America from foreigners carrying threats. These tendencies show deep historical and outdated roots of xenophobia, which were born when tribes feuded for lack of food and perceived any outsider as an enemy.

In modern society, xenophobia does not have enough justification for its existence, since most foreigners come to the country and become Americans despite their religion and skin color. Migrants do not come to the United States to destroy a local culture or devastate the economy, but only to benefit themselves and the society in which they live. They create their ethnic communities in which they honor their traditions, but at the same time, they embrace American culture. I can’t entirely agree that equality and acceptance in the United States is an absolute myth because if it did not exist, it would not be discussed in society. However, the constant debate about immigrants and minorities often reinforces xenophobia even further as they focus on people’s differences. “White America,” defined by white Americans Catholic or non-religious Americans, is afraid of foreigners only because the political forces incite this fear in them and pass laws that turn society into the past.

However, it is true that most often, only migrants who have white skin and are Catholics will eventually be able to get rid of the prejudices and discrimination of society towards them because they “merge” with it. At the same time, although equality exists on a legal level, and a migrant has a chance to build a career and achieve significant success, routine discrimination usually does not disappear if a person’s skin color or religion cannot be hidden. This discrimination can be unintentional, but it shows that a person is perceived as a stranger.

Therefore, xenophobia in contemporary American society is a primitive historical fear of outsiders, combined with a bias that, in most cases, lacks rational justification. This fear is fueled by discussions in which people, for personal reasons, find the negative aspects of migrants, as well as the laws that the government passes to protect their territories and citizens from “outsiders.” As long as there is a concept of “us” and “them” in the world and American society, xenophobia will not disappear, since it will be used as an instrument of influence and political interests.

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Xenophobia – The Fear of Foreigners Essay

Introduction, illustrations of xenophobia.

Someone somewhere is afraid of wolves while another one is afraid of spiders. There are people who are afraid of water, plants, light, bad smell and even other people. People live in constant fear of diverse things, actions and even emotions. Some of these fears are normal while others are quite abnormal. Why do people develop fears? People develop fears because as they interact with various things in the universe, they tend to develop some psychological detachments that may end up producing a certain kind of antipathy towards some objects (Bourne 9). This kind of fear generates hatred towards the specific object and any encounter with the said object will elicit irrational behaviors from the subject.

Fear is also called phobia and one of the most common phobias is called Xenophobia. Xenophobia is associated with foreigners. It is also associated with guests and even strangers. The feeling of high levels of antipathy or fear towards foreigners is called xenophobia (Wolpe 111). This fear is usually irrational and is associated with some emotional problems though sometimes it can be exhibited by people who are emotionally sound. People with post-traumatic stress disorder are likely to exhibit this irrational fear. In most cases, this fear is connected with past associations with members of the grouping that the foreigner or the stranger comes from.

For example, there was a white woman in the UK who was brutally attacked by two black men. They left her with a deformed wrist. After the incident, whenever she came across any black person, she would develop panic attacks and run away from the people (Kessler 12). This fear is irrational because it tends to associate people of a certain group with a past action. This reaction of the woman is xenophobic because it highlights fear and hatred of people of another race emanating. Xenophobia is not just a fear of persons whom the subject considers foreigners or strangers. It also entails any aversion to the cultures, the norms, values, belief systems and the practices of the strangers or the foreigners in question.

This means that it is a very wide concept that entails things like origin, linguistic conventions, ways of life, habits and even religious dispositions (Latimer 45). Xenophobia is not racism, but racism is a subset of xenophobia. This is because not all people of a different race are foreigners but someone may hate a foreigner just because of his or her racial background. Xenophobia in most cases has to do with nationalities though in some cases, the issue of race creeps in.

There are cases where xenophobia and racism are used to refer to the same thing especially in Eastern Europe where there are very few natives from other races. In this case, every person of another race is considered to be a foreigner and the fear and hate directed to that person is actually based on racial grounds. However, Xenophobia transcends race and culture because this irrational fear can be extended to people on very many other grounds.

Xenophobia is a concept of fear that has two vital components. The first component is a sub-set of a population that is usually not part of a larger society. This subset represents the immigrants. The immigrants may be recent immigrants or past immigrants that have already been integrated into that society. Xenophobia emanating from this component is very dangerous because it can degenerate into violence or even genocide. There have been cases of mass expulsion of immigrants and foreigners due to this fear of foreigners in some parts of the world recently. The best example of xenophobic reactions was witnessed in South Africa, where foreigners were expunged from major cities by the locals.

The reason behind these xenophobic attacks in South Africa was that the immigrants had taken over the jobs that were meant for the natives and these foreigners were also creating competition for business and economic activities.

The success of the immigrant populations in South Africa intimidated the locals and they feared that the foreigners were going to eclipse them economically. The xenophobic tensions lasted for the better part of the year 2000 leading to hundreds of deaths and massive displacements of immigrants from other parts of Africa (Audie 23). The main targets were Zimbabweans who had run away from the economic crisis that had hit their country then. Other targets of the xenophobic attacks included Somalis, Kenyans and Zambians who were excelling economically in South Africa.

The second component of xenophobia entails the fear of cultures and the main target of this form of xenophobia is some behaviors and practices that are considered to be strange. Every culture has some influences from the outside. There are some cultures that are considered impure because they do not conform to the native cultures and the owners of these cultures can be victims of xenophobia. This is one problem that faces Indians.

Their cultures and practices are usually considered strange in many parts of the world and they have increasingly become victims of xenophobia especially in Europe. However, this type of xenophobia is mild and in most cases, it does not elicit aggression.

The fear of foreigners from a racist perspective is another common form in the world. The form of racism that the Anglo Americans suffer in the United States of America is not xenophobic. There is no fear in this racism. However, the form of racism that is extended to the Latinos in the United States of America is xenophobic. The Latinos are feared and loathed by the natives in the US and they are usually regarded as criminals. This xenophobia emanated from the concept of illegal immigration. Most of the Latinos that are in the United States of America are illegal immigrants mostly from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba and many other Central and South American countries.

Illegal immigration is considered a crime in the US and anyone who gets to the country without the required immigration paperwork is considered to be a criminal. This means that the Latinos, because of the fact that most of them are illegal immigrants, are viewed as criminals by the natives of the United States of America. This has presented a big problem to the Latino population in the United States of America because the natives have developed an irrational fear of the Latinos and in case of an incident of crime, the Latinos are usually implicated.

This fear of the Latinos has generated hate that has seen a lot of negative stereotypes emerge about the Latinos in the US. Apart from the criminal stereotype, Latinos are also considered to be very unintelligent and this stereotype emanates from the fact that most criminals are people who never made it to school. This means that the people of the United States of America believe that Latinos are not intelligent because they are criminals.

Is xenophobia justified, especially in the 21 st century? This is the time that the world should be celebrating cultural diversity but lurking in the shadow is this black menace called xenophobia. The future of the world lies in the acceptance of diversity that is there in the universe and showing utmost tolerance to other people, their practices and belief systems. The world we are living in is different from the world that was there a century ago. In the past, people used to live under geographical confines and it was hard to come across foreigners or people whose values and practices were not in tandem with those of the locality.

However, the world has changed and in this era of globalization, movement from one point of the world to another is very common. This means that the chances of having an encounter with a foreigner are very high. The world has reached a point where it is inevitable to live without foreigners which means that if there is to be peaceful co-existence in the world, then the tolerance of other foreigners and their entire cultural systems must be practiced. There are some forms of fear of foreigners that are justifiable because of the psychological connections that are there but there are some that can be fought (Crozier 67).

This is because some instances of xenophobia emanate from attitudes that are formed against people of certain origins. This means that if these attitudes are quashed, these forms of xenophobia can be eradicated. For example, the fear of foreigners especially people from specific African countries by South Africans was a result of the formation of attitudes towards those people. Instead of appreciating that these people are working hard to uplift the economy of their country, they develop fears that the increasing numbers of African immigrants in South Africa are threatening economic and business opportunities.

The fear of the Latinos in the United States of America is also based on a false belief that all Latinos are criminals because they entered the country in a manner that is considered criminal. Xenophobia is very harmful to a society or a country. It can easily lead to violent reactions or even genocide. This is because intensive fear generates hate which leads to anti-social practices against the targeted population (Audie 23). The genocidal killings that took place in Europe during the Third Reich were partly because of the irrational fear of the Jews and their geographic expansion which led to a war against them that saw their near extermination by the Nazi regime.

The fear of foreigners is something that is supposed to be unheard of in the 21 st century yet cases of xenophobia are increasingly being reported. In the UK and the US, xenophobia or the fear of foreigners has taken a religious twist and it has become Islamophobia. Their fear of Muslims nationalities has heightened and this has led to the development of a climate that is unconducive for the Muslims in the two countries.

Muslims have become targets of antisocial behaviors including exclusion and even bullying. In the UK, this fear was aggravated by the London bombings in the middle of the last decade while in the United States of America, this xenophobia widened after the catastrophic terrorist bombings of September 11, 2001. In the two countries, a person from an Islamic background is always viewed as a potential terrorist. The fear of the Muslims in the two countries is evidenced by the specialized checks that the Muslims undergo at the airports before they can be allowed into the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

This action by the two countries has elicited the same kind of response towards American citizens living in Islamic countries. Americans living in Islamic countries have been victims of xenophobic attacks. To start with, the Americans are usually considered to be spies sent on a mission to track terrorists meaning that the nationals in the Islamic countries especially in the Middle East live in fear of the Americans who live in their countries. Secondly, the tensions between the Islamic countries and the United States of America have generated hatred towards the Americans living in those countries and this has heightened xenophobia that is directed towards them.

In conclusion, human beings will continue to live in fear of different things depending on the nature of interactions between them and those things but the worst form of fear is the fear of the other human beings. This is because this is the fear that can have the most dangerous consequences.

Apart from the emotional trauma arising from the aftermath of the actions that are triggered by this fear, xenophobia has led to the wiping off of millions of people from the face of the earth during various instances of genocides. In the 21 st century when the world is said to be a global village, the levels of hatred and intolerance that are brought by xenophobia can be very dangerous especially towards the dream of integration of cultures that is expected to unite the people of the world.

Audie, Katherine. “International Relations and Migration in Southern Africa”. Institute for Security Studies: African Security Review Vol 6 no 3, 1997.

Bourne, Edmund. The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook. New Jersey: New Harbinger Publications. 2005.

Kessler, Edward. Prevalence, Severity, and Comorbidity of 12-Month DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication , 2005, Archive of General Psychiatry, Volume 20.

Crozier, Ray. International Handbook of Social Anxiety: Concepts, Research, and Interventions Relating to the Self and Shyness . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2000.

Latimer, Paul. Phobia and psychology: NY: Sage. 2009.

Wolpe, Joseph. Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Washington: Stanford University Press.

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The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa pp 1–7 Cite as

Introduction: Understanding Xenophobia in Africa

  • Adeoye O. Akinola 5  
  • First Online: 14 November 2017

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Part of the Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development book series (AAESPD)

Colonialism militarised African societies and imposed a violent character upon the state and societies, which explains the spate of political instability, insurgency, terrorism and civil war experienced in many African countries. This chapter provides an understanding of xenophobia and presents xenophobia as all forms of discrimination against those considered to be ‘different’, ‘the other’, and non-national. It engages the politicization of xenophobia, explores its motivations and traces its roots to Africa’s colonial heritage. Although, xenophobic violence which has become part of the African story, is not a new phenomenon, but its destructive nature has become a cause for concern among stakeholders in African peace, security and development projects. From Ghana to Nigeria and Zambia to South Africa, hostility has been directed against ‘the others’ and non-nationals of African descent. While there is a rich literature on the violent manifestation of xenophobia in Africa, few studies have explored the non-violent expression of xenophobia. Thus, this section conceptualizes the diverse manifestations of xenophobia and its effects on the state, economy and society.

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Akinola, A.O. (2018). Introduction: Understanding Xenophobia in Africa. In: Akinola, A. (eds) The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64897-2_1

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The term xenophobia derives from the Greek words xenos (“foreign”) and phobos (“fear”), literally meaning a fear of foreigners. This origin is reflected in dictionary definitions, which almost inevitably describe it as a fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners. Despite a clear parallel between xenophobia and prejudice, the former refers solely to an emotional reaction to the other, while the latter is typically defined in ways that suggest both cognitive and emotional components. To the extent that this is the case, xenophobia has a more restrictive usage than prejudice. On the other hand, xenophobia and ethnocentrism are essentially two sides of the same coin, the latter referring to an excessive love of one’s own “people”—be they defined in ethnic, racial, religious, national, or civilizational terms.

Given the word’s origin, in the premodern world certain visceral reactions to the “other” appeared to be, if not typical or universal, at least very common. Contact with strangers within and foreigners from outside accelerated with the advent of the modern age, and a considerable literature developed in Europe that addressed this reality. In the case of strangers within, the classic example was Jews on a predominantly Christian continent. From a relatively early point in time, intellectuals were divided between those who harbored virulently anti-Semitic views and those who promoted tolerance. Anti-Semitism had deep roots in Roman Catholicism, and in this regard there was a remarkable continuity between Catholicism and Protestantism. Indeed, many experts consider Luther’s notorious screed against the Jews, after it became apparent that they did not plan to convert to Christianity, as one of the foundational statements of European anti-Semitism. The Jews he despised, forced to reside in segregated ghettos, were physically close but socially distant. Given that their religion constituted the formative grounding of Christianity, it would be reasonable to assume that they would not be perceived as the stranger within, but clearly this was the predominant sentiment among both intellectuals responsible for the ideological basis of anti-Semitism and ordinary people.

At the same time as Europeans began to venture into heretofore uncharted areas of the globe, thus beginning the era of colonialism, a fateful encounter with the other commenced. The image that emerged to characterize the other was to contrast civilized Europeans to savage or barbarian others. When Montaigne published his famous essay “Of Cannibals” in 1577, his contention was that Europeans offered evidence that they, and not the exotic outsider, were more capable of barbaric acts. His argument clearly presented a position that ran against the current of opinion in Europe. Likewise, in the famous Valladolid debate that pitted Bartolome de Las Casas against Juan Gines de Sepulveda, the former argued that the indigenous people of the Americas indeed possessed souls and thus shared with Europeans a common humanity. His was a minority position at that time.

Since the 19th century and the emergence of mass immigration, the newcomers came to represent the other. This was evident during the earliest wave of immigration in the United States, when the Irish were singled out for contempt. Hostility, fueled by anti-Catholicism, shaped the belief that the Irish represented both a social problem and a threat to democracy due to their presumed willingness to obey the authoritarian dictates of the Vatican. In the following wave of immigration, all Eastern and Southern European immigrants were the victims of xenophobia, but none was hated and feared more than Jews. Accused of being both ruthless capitalist exploiters and, paradoxically, as responsible for fomenting a communist revolution, they were depicted as being intent on world domination. Nowhere was this more on display than in the circulation of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In the current wave of migration from the world’s poor nations to the rich ones, the closest counterpart to this earlier instance of xenophobia is what has become known as Islamophobia, a phenomenon more in evidence in the nations of Western Europe than in North America, in no small part because the former nations have absorbed far larger numbers of Muslim immigrants. Shaping the animosity directed at Muslims is the claim that the cultures they bring to their new setting are antithetical to liberal democracies and pluralist societies, and therefore they are both incapable of, and uninterested in, becoming incorporated into the larger society. Such views have been exacerbated since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent attacks in Madrid and London intensify the fear factor, according to public opinion research.

Given that the evidence suggests xenophobia extends throughout recorded history, some scholars argue that it is a universal feature of the human condition. This thesis has been especially evident among those who seek to locate in human biology the key causal factors producing it. This was apparent in the past in eugenics and more recently in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. However, if hostility to outsiders is a universal condition, it would lead to the maladaptive situation in which individuals were limited to interacting only with ingroup members. Moreover, the record indicates that attitudes toward the stranger vary depending on time and circumstance. Nowhere is this more vividly and tragically on display than in the genocide campaigns in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In both cases, the deeply rooted tensions between groups—Serbs and Muslims in the former case, Hutus and Tutsis in the latter—did not lead to persistent conflict and violence. On the contrary, for extended periods of time these groups peacefully coexisted and in fact often interacted in positive ways (including intermarriage). The potential for xenophobia increases during times of societal crisis, which appears to be a necessary but not sufficient reason for xenophobia to lead to violence. The additional essential ingredients include a leadership committed to inciting mass hatred and a mass media prepared to serve the interests of those elites.

The reverse is also true. Political leaders committed to multiculturalism, with Canada being the most successful example at present, have managed to reduce levels of xenophobia. Thus, new immigrants in Canada confront considerably less hostility and fear than in many other immigrant-receiving nations. Moreover, although tensions between separatist nationalists in Quebec and the rest of Canada are a reality, they do not manifest themselves in terms of hatred or fear. The result is that intergroup conflict has the potential of being managed in constructive ways. Xenophobia, in short, should be viewed as socially constructed and not as an inevitable feature of the human condition.

Bibliography:

  • Brown, Rupert. 1995. Prejudice: Its Social Psychology. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
  • Higham, John. 2002. Strangers in the Land. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Horowitz, Donald L. 2003. The Deadly Ethnic Riot. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  • van den Berghe, Pierre L. 1999. “Racism, Ethnocentrism, and Xenophobia: In Our Genes or in Our Memes?” Pp. 43-61 in In-group/Out-group Behaviour in Modern Societies: An Evolutionary Perspective, edited by K. Thienpont and R. Cliquet. Brussels, Belgium: NIDI CBGS Publications.

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Six essays for a better understanding of xenophobia

essay for xenophobia

Of the over 400 words that begin with the letter ‘x’ as contained in the Oxford English Dictionary, xenophobia is arguably the most widely used. Most ‘x’ words in English are well rooted in Greek, like Xenos (stranger, foreigner), which gave us xenophobia.

Phobia is also a Greek word meaning ‘fear’ and joining the two words in unholy matrimony gives birth to xenophobia – fear of strangers. Most times, this fear is irrational. If you are xenophobic, you might distrust a neighbour you meet every day or the Pope you have never met. Xenophobia shares the same ‘parents’ with racism. However, instead of being afraid or distrusting someone because of the colour of his skin, you distrust or fear him because of his nationality or because he seems foreign to you. In this article, we shall sample six essays and reports which bring home the ills of xenophobia.

Six essays for a better understanding of xenophobia/Skabash

Ghana Must Go: The Ugly History of Africa’s Most Famous Bag 

This essay by Shola Lawal tells the story of a Ghanaian, Solomon Asiedu, who was earning a living in Lagos, Nigeria. His peaceful coexistence with Nigerians and his fellow countrymen was disrupted on January 17, 1983.

Asiedu had just listened to Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s first elected civilian president, who announced the expulsion of about two million undocumented migrants, mostly Ghanaians, living in the country.

“If they don’t leave,” Shagari said.

“They should be arrested and tried and sent back to their homes. Illegal immigrants, under normal circumstances, should not be given any notice.”

Asiedu and others like him with no work or residence permits were told to leave within 14 days or risk jail because “if you break a law, then you have to pay for it” Shagari thundered.

“I was not ready to leave,” the now 67-year-old, said.

“I had just one bag with me.”

That bag had no name on it. It came cheap and was usually red and blue. It was sold in big and medium sizes. But it had one thing in common – checked. It is what we now call a ‘Ghana must go’ bag, named after the event.

Asiedu travelled across two countries – the Benin Republic and Togo – to return to Ghana, clucking his bag. The Ghanaian government sent ships to Cotonou, the capital of Benin, to reduce the number of people commuting by road. Some never saw their homeland as many fell off as they scrambled for a spot on the vessels.

Thirty-nine years after the exodus, this bag that is sold in major markets in Nigeria and indeed other parts of West Africa brings back a memory of despair most Ghanaians would have loved buried in the past.

Asiedu, who returned to farming, chose, however, to remember the incident with serenity.

“What will you do?” he asked rhetorically.

“The person who owns his thing is ready to take it from you, you have nothing to say, you just give him.”

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Belonging: Why South Africans Refuse to Let Africa In

In this report , which appears in the 2014 book titled Africa Is a Country, Sisonke Msimang examines the minds of an average black and white South African whose perception and understanding of Africa are not similar to the rest of the continent.

Msimang, a South African writer, activist, a political analyst, tells a personal story in this well-written essay. Born to South African parents outside the country, she lived in Zambia, Kenya, and Canada but came to her country in the 1990s. She recalls her ordeals in the early months of trying to adjust to life in South Africa. She was surprised by the odd way in which the term ‘Africa’ was deployed by the average black and white South Africans. The thoughts that she was relating with her fellow Africans were dispelled as she noticed “their hatred of other Africans coming from the rest of the continent”.

Her accent didn’t help her too as she spoke in fancy tones often associated with someone who schooled abroad. People never failed to ask her where she came from. She would start by explaining that she was born to South African parents but grew up outside the country. What she got in return were sympathetic nods from the listeners until they could comprehend what she was saying.

What followed was an intake of breath and a mocking look that always came with “so you grew up in Africa.” Africa was said as though it were a statement when a question. A scornful question. And they will tell her to her face… “Shame”.

She concludes that insularity will remain South Africa’s guiding spirit in its cultural, social, and political relationships with the rest of Africa.

Six essays for a better understanding of xenophobia/Skabash

Explaining South African Xenophobia

Christopher Claassen takes a broader route to describe xenophobia in South Africa. This academic paper explores the determinants of this hatred for foreigners and found out the issue is not a lack of explanations of the problem but a plethora of it. The author focuses on the social processes behind the violence of 2008 and 2015 to shed light on his project.

In the continent, South Africa is the ‘hostility headquarter’ where most regular and irregular migrants know no peace. In May 2008, there were widespread attacks aimed at foreigners, which took the lives of about 62 people. It made headlines worldwide, yet seven years later, a similar thing happened.

Although South African xenophobia is causing constraints for the country’s international relations, particularly within Africa, many commentaries, reflections, and research by different governments, scholars, and civil society still leave a poor understanding of the problem. Like the factors that influence and shape hostility toward immigrants from other parts of Africa.

This study concludes that xenophobia in South Africa, which has national and regional political consequences, takes the form of widespread intolerance and antipathy occurring at intervals by acts of violence, unlike in other places, which are usually caused by cases of rare attacks.

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Lesotho Media and the Growing Intimidation of Chinese Shop Owners

This essay , by Ts’eliso Monaheng, appears in the book Africa Is a Country. Lesotho, a landlocked country encircled in South Africa, has its problem with xenophobia, like its Big Brother neighbour. Monaheng analyses how the country’s media has aggravated the lingering crisis between Chinese-owned shops and the government, which inevitably led to the closure of the businesses of foreigners.

In December 2012, the government, through its Ministry of Trade and Industry, closed the shops belonging to Chinese owners in and around the country’s capital, Maseru. Before the closure, the government embarked on a raid. According to them, the Chinese-owned shops sold low-quality food to their customers for years, most of whom are less privileged so unable to afford goods sold in other groceries.

But Monaheng says it was a mere ploy by the local populace to get rid of the Chinese because they despised them. One was even heard saying, “we will speak about the Chinese’s rotten food until someone in authority takes note.” Hate speech? Definitely.

The media, especially radio stations, added fuel to the flame by employing a range of tools “from semi-traditionalist rhetoric to outright Christian fundamentalist utterances”.

Six essays for a better understanding of xenophobia/Skabash

Xenophobia: The View from Mozambique

In this essay , Justin Pearce examines the reactions of Mozambicans to South Africans in the wake of the 2015 violence in South Africa.

Most parts of the report are based on the reactions, commentaries that followed the open letters exchanged between a Mozambique writer, Mia Couto, and the then president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

The author picks holes in the average Mozambican view of South Africans and, conversely. He agrees Couto understood South Africa better than most South Africans understood Mozambique. However, he couldn’t help the thought that if he’d spent more time in the country of Bafana Bafana in recent times, he’d have known that the so-called “rainbow nation” idea carried little weight.

The Everyday Lives of African Immigrants in South Africa

This report by Leila Dee Dougan, a South African journalist and documentary filmmaker, also appears in Africa Is a Country.

Her report, which focuses on the exhibition of photographer Sydelle Willow Smith, offers alternative views on migration stories unlike those that portray violence, police brutality, deportation that are usually covered by the conventional media.

The visual exploration found in her story includes two girls watching a soap opera, a family on a shopping jaunt, an elderly man showing off the pool he maintains for a rich family in Camps Bay, Cape Town.

Her story could be seen as a disjointed view of the broader narrative surrounding a migrant experience in South Africa. But by shooting around the scars, the exhibition discusses the experience of being a stranger in South Africa.

There are other aspects of xenophobia these six essays didn’t cover, but that wasn’t our aim. We just wanted to broaden your mind by reading the firsthand experiences of people who eat, sleep, breathe xenophobia.

Kindly leave your feedback in the comment section below.

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Trump’s ‘Knock on the Door’

The former president and his aides are formulating plans to deport millions of migrants.

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Confrontations over immigration and border security are moving to the center of the struggle between the two parties, both in Washington, D.C., and beyond. And yet the most explosive immigration clash of all may still lie ahead.

In just the past few days, Washington has seen the collapse of a bipartisan Senate deal to toughen border security amid opposition from former President Donald Trump and the House Republican leadership, as well as a failed vote by House Republicans to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for allegedly refusing to enforce the nation’s immigration laws. Simultaneously, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, supported by more than a dozen other GOP governors, has renewed his attempts to seize greater control over immigration enforcement from the federal government.

Cumulatively these clashes demonstrate how much the terms of debate over immigration have moved to the right during President Joe Biden’s time in office. But even amid that overall shift, Trump is publicly discussing immigration plans for a second presidential term that could quickly become much more politically divisive than even anything separating the parties now.

Trump has repeatedly promised that, if reelected, he will pursue “the Largest Domestic Deportation Operation in History,” as he put it last month on social media . Inherently, such an effort would be politically explosive. That’s because any mass-deportation program would naturally focus on the largely minority areas of big Democratic-leaning cities where many undocumented immigrants have settled, such as Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York, and Phoenix.

“What this means is that the communities that are heavily Hispanic or Black, those marginalized communities are going to be living in absolute fear of a knock on the door, whether or not they are themselves undocumented,” David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told me. “What he’s describing is a terrifying police state, the pretext of which is immigration.”

How Trump and his advisers intend to staff such a program would make a prospective Trump deportation campaign even more volatile. Stephen Miller, Trump’s top immigration adviser, has publicly declared that they would pursue such an enormous effort partly by creating a private red-state army under the president’s command. Miller says a reelected Trump intends to requisition National Guard troops from sympathetic Republican-controlled states and then deploy them into Democratic-run states whose governors refuse to cooperate with their deportation drive.

Such deployment of red-state forces into blue states, over the objections of their mayors and governors, would likely spark intense public protest and possibly even conflict with law-enforcement agencies under local control. And that conflict itself could become the justification for further insertion of federal forces into blue jurisdictions, notes Joseph Nunn, a counsel in the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School.

From his very first days as a national candidate in 2015, Trump has intermittently promised to pursue a massive deportation program against undocumented immigrants. As president, Trump moved in unprecedented ways to reduce the number of new arrivals in the country by restricting both legal and illegal immigration. But he never launched the huge “deportation force” or widespread removals that, he frequently promised, would uproot the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the United States during his time in office. Over Trump’s four years, in fact, his administration deported only about a third as many people from the nation’s interior as Barack Obama’s administration had over the previous four years, according to a study by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute .

Read: The GOP’s true priority

Exactly why Trump never launched the comprehensive deportation program he promised is unclear even to some veterans of his administration. The best answer may be a combination of political resistance within Congress and in local governments, logistical difficulties, and internal opposition from the more mainstream conservative appointees who held key positions in his administration, particularly in his first years.

This time, though, Trump has been even more persistent than in the 2016 campaign in promising a sweeping deportation effort. (“Those Biden has let in should not get comfortable because they will be going home,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site last month .) Simultaneously, Miller has outlined much more explicit and detailed plans than Trump ever did in 2016 about how the administration would implement such a deportation program in a second term.

Dismissing these declarations as merely campaign bluster would be a mistake, Miles Taylor, who served as DHS chief of staff under Trump, told me in an interview. “If Stephen Miller says it, if Trump says it, it is very reasonable to assume that’s what they will try to do in a second term,” said Taylor, who later broke with Trump to write a New York Times op-ed and a book that declared him unfit for the job . (Taylor wrote the article and book anonymously, but later acknowledged that he was the author.)

Officials at DHS successfully resisted many of Miller’s most extreme immigration ideas during Trump’s term, Taylor said. But with the experience of Trump’s four years behind them, Taylor told me Trump and Miller would be in a much stronger position in 2025 to drive through militant ideas such as mass deportation and internment camps for undocumented migrants. “Stephen Miller has had the time and the battle scars to inform a very systematic strategy,” Taylor said.

Miller outlined the Trump team’s plans for a mass-deportation effort most extensively in an interview he did this past November on a podcast hosted by the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In the interview, Miller suggested that another Trump administration would seek to remove as many as 10 million “foreign-national invaders” who he claims have entered the country under Biden.

To round up those migrants, Miller said, the administration would dispatch forces to “go around the country arresting illegal immigrants in large-scale raids.” Then, he said, it would build “large-scale staging grounds near the border, most likely in Texas,” to serve as internment camps for migrants designated for deportation. From these camps, he said, the administration would schedule near-constant flights returning migrants to their home countries. “So you create this efficiency by having these standing facilities where planes are moving off the runway constantly, probably military aircraft, some existing DHS assets,” Miller told Kirk.

In the interview, Miller acknowledged that removing migrants at this scale would be an immense undertaking, comparable in scale and complexity to “building the Panama Canal.” He said the administration would use multiple means to supplement the limited existing immigration-enforcement personnel available to them, primarily at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE. One would be to reassign personnel from other federal law-enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DEA. Another would be to “deputize” local police and sheriffs. And a third would be to requisition National Guard troops to participate in the deportation plans.

Miller offered two scenarios for enlisting National Guard troops in removing migrants. One would be in states where Republican governors want to cooperate. “You go to the red-state governors and you say, ‘Give us your National Guard,’” he said. “We will deputize them as immigration-enforcement officers.”

The second scenario, Miller said, would involve sending National Guard forces from nearby Republican-controlled states into what he called an “unfriendly state” whose governor would not willingly join the deportation program.

Read: The specter of family separation

Even those sweeping plans understate the magnitude of the effort that mass deportations would require, Jason Houser, a former chief of staff at ICE under Biden, told me. Removing 500,000 to 1 million migrants a year could require as many as 100,000–150,000 deputized enforcement officers, Houser believes. Staffing the internment camps and constant flights that Miller is contemplating could require 50,000 more people, Houser said. “If you want to deport a million a year—and I’m a Navy officer—you are talking a mobilization the size of a military deployment,” Houser told me.

Enormous legal resources would be required too. Immigration lawyers point out that even if Trump detained migrants through mass roundups, the administration would still need individual deportation orders from immigration courts for each person it wants to remove from the country. “It’s not as simple as sending Guardsmen in to arrest everyone who is illegal or undocumented,” said Leopold, the immigration lawyer.

All of this exceeds the staffing now available for immigration enforcement; ICE, Houser said, has only about 6,000 enforcement agents. To fill the gap, he said, Trump would need to transfer huge numbers of other federal law-enforcement agents, weakening the ability of agencies including the DEA, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service to fulfill their principal responsibilities. And even then, Trump would still need support from the National Guard to reach the scale he’s discussing.

Even if Trump used National Guard troops in supporting roles, rather than to “break down doors” in pursuit of migrants, they would be thrust into highly contentious situations, Houser said.

“You are talking about taking National Guard members out of their jobs in Texas and moving them into, say, Philadelphia and having them do mass stagings,” Houser said. “Literally as Philadelphians are leaving for work, or their kids are going to school, they are going to see mass-deportation centers with children and mothers who were just in the community working and thriving.” He predicts that Trump would be forced to convert warehouses or abandoned malls into temporary relocation centers for thousands of migrants.

Adam Goodman, a historian at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of The Deportation Machine , told me, “There’s no precedent of millions of people being removed in U.S. history in a short period of time.” The example Trump most often cites as a model is “Operation Wetback,” the mass-deportation program—named for a slur against Mexican Americans—launched by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954. That program involved huge sweeps through not only workplaces, but also heavily Mexican American communities in cities such as Los Angeles. Yet even that effort, despite ensnaring an unknown number of legal residents, removed only about 250,000 people, Goodman said. To deport the larger numbers Trump is promising, he would need an operation of much greater scale and expense.

The Republican response to Texas’s standoff with the Biden administration offers Trump reason for optimism that red-state governors would support his ambitious immigration plans. So far, 14 Republican-controlled states have sent National Guard troops or other law-enforcement personnel to bolster Abbott in his ongoing efforts to assert more control over immigration issues . The Supreme Court last month overturned a lower-court decision that blocked federal agents from dismantling the razor-wire barriers Texas has been erecting along the border. But Abbott insists that he’ll build more of the barriers nonetheless. “We are expanding to further areas to make sure we will expand our level of deterrence,” Abbott declared last Sunday at a press conference near the border , where he was joined by 13 other GOP governors. Abbott has said he expects every red state to eventually send forces to back his efforts.

But the National Guard deployments to Texas still differ from the scenario that Miller has sketched. Abbott is welcoming the personnel that other states are sending to Texas. In that sense, this deployment is similar to the process under which George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden utilized National Guard troops to support federal immigration-enforcement efforts in Texas and, at times, other border states: None of the governors of those states has opposed the use of those troops in their territory for that purpose.

The prospect of Trump dispatching red-state National Guard troops on deportation missions into blue states that oppose them is more akin to his actions during the racial-justice protests following the murder of George Floyd in summer 2020. At that point, Trump deployed National Guardsmen provided by 11 Republican governors to Washington, D.C., to quell the protests.

The governors provided those forces to Trump under what’s known as “hybrid status” for the National Guard (also known as Title 32 status). Under hybrid status, National Guard troops remain under the technical command of their state’s governor, even though they are executing a federal mission. Using troops in hybrid status isn’t particularly unusual; what made that deployment “unprecedented,” in Joseph Nunn’s phrase, is that the troops were deployed over the objection of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The hybrid status that Trump used in D.C. is probably the model the former president and Miller are hoping to use to send red-state National Guard forces into blue states that don’t want them, Nunn told me. But Nunn believes that federal courts would block any such effort. Trump could ignore the objections from the D.C. government because it’s not a state, but Nunn believes that if Trump sought to send troops in hybrid status from, say, Indiana to support deportation raids in Chicago, federal courts would say that violates Illinois’ constitutional rights. “Under the Constitution, the states are sovereign and coequal,” Nunn said. “One state cannot reach into another state and exercise governmental power there without the receiving state’s consent.”

But Trump could overcome that obstacle, Nunn said, through a straightforward, if more politically risky, alternative that he and his aides have already discussed. If Trump invoked the Insurrection Act, which dates back to 1792, he would have almost unlimited authority to use any military asset for his deportation program. Under the Insurrection Act, Trump could dispatch the Indiana National Guard into Illinois, take control of the Illinois National Guard for the job, or directly send in active-duty military forces, Nunn said.

“There are not a lot of meaningful criteria in the Insurrection Act for assessing whether a given situation warrants using it, and there is no mechanism in the law that allows the courts or Congress to check an abuse of the act,” Nunn told me. “There are quite literally no safeguards.”

Read: America’s immigration reckoning has arrived

The Insurrection Act is the legal tool presidents invoked to federalize control over state National Guards when southern governors used the troops to block racial integration. For Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to instead target racial minorities through his deportation program might be even more politically combustible than sending in National Guard troops through hybrid status during the 2020 D.C. protests, Nunn said. But, like many other immigration and security experts I spoke with, Nunn believes those concerns are not likely to dissuade a reelected Trump from using the Insurrection Act if courts block his other options.

In fact, as I’ve written , a mass-deportation program staffed partially with red-state National Guard forces is only one of several ideas that Trump has embraced for introducing federal forces into blue jurisdictions over the objections of their local leaders. He’s also talked about sending federal personnel into blue cities to round up homeless people (and place them in camps as well) or just to fight crime. Invoking the Insurrection Act might be the necessary predicate for those initiatives as well.

These plans could produce scenes in American communities unmatched in our history. Leopold, to take one scenario raised by Miller in his interview, asks what would happen if the Republican governor of Virginia, at Trump’s request, sends National Guard troops into Maryland, but the Democratic governor of that state orders his National Guard to block their entry? Similarly, in a huge deportation sweep through a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles or Chicago, it’s easy to imagine frightened migrant families taking refuge in a church and a Democratic mayor ordering local police to surround the building. Would federal agents and National Guard troops sent by Trump try to push past the local police by force?

For all the tumult that the many disputes over immigration are now generating, these possibilities could prove far more disruptive, incendiary, and even violent.

“What we would expect to see in a second Trump presidency is governance by force,” Deana El-Mallawany, a counsel and the director of impact programs at Protect Democracy, a bipartisan group focused on threats to democracy, told me. “This is his retribution agenda. He is looking at ways to aggrandize and consolidate power within the presidency to do these extreme things, and going after marginalized groups first, like migrants and the homeless, is the way to expand that power, normalize it, and then wield it more broadly against everybody in our democracy.”

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Ukraine, Gaza and the Long Shadow of German Guilt

In “Out of the Darkness,” Frank Trentmann details the way people in the country that started World War II are still confronting and atoning for the atrocities of their government.

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By Peter Fritzsche

Peter Fritzsche is a professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the author, most recently, of “Hitler’s First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich.”

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OUT OF THE DARKNESS: The Germans, 1942-2022, by Frank Trentmann

“Stalingrad” is what Germans talked about as they settled down for coffee and cake on Sunday afternoons in the first five decades after World War II — the “bitter fate” of prisoners in Soviet camps, the five million German soldiers who lost their lives in the wider conflict, and the widows and orphans they left behind. They brought up “Dresden” and the 20 million people who had lost their homes in the Allied bombing. Almost every family told stories of one of the 12 million refugees who fled the Red Army’s advance or had been expelled from the eastern territories, from Breslau, Danzig and Königsberg. One after another, they followed paths of self-pity.

“Everything that the German Volk did to the Jews,” a liberal justice minister told an audience of Jewish attorneys in 1951, “happened to itself.” War stories gathered up victims, all of whom, on both sides, deserved “the same high degree of care,” a Bavarian assembly president insisted. Few of the Sunday coffee visitors saw Allied victory as liberation or fully recognized the grave injuries German soldiers had inflicted on Europe’s civilians across what The New York Times called “ the new dark continent .”

This attitude did not hold forever. In the remarkably rich “Out of the Darkness,” the historian Frank Trentmann tracks the “moral transformation of Germany,” from the Battle of Stalingrad in the early 1940s right through debates about Germany’s historical responsibilities in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine eight decades later. In a country where the austere concrete slabs of “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” anchor the capital complex that surrounds the old Berlin Wall, World War II casts a very long shadow.

The tense debate over whether the country that started the Second World War should send arms to Ukraine — whether it should confront Russia or appease Putin and avoid any whiff of militarism — is only one in a series of dramatic developments shaping the nation’s temper. Just this century, the country has seen the near bust-up of the European Union over Greek debt after the global financial crisis of 2008; the absorption of hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia in 2015; and the entry of the far-right Alternative for Germany into Parliament in 2017. For the last 80 years, Trentmann writes, all aspects of life from family to work to the environment have been debated in terms of right and wrong, featuring “conflicts about guilt, shame and making amends.” Paradoxically, reunification in 1990 stirred up rather than settled questions about who Germans have been and how they should shape their future.

As the damage of a lost war became clear and hunger spread, most German citizens saw their own hardship first. “In July 1946,” Trentmann notes, “the average German man in his 20s weighed 130 pounds. By February 1948, that had dropped to 114 pounds.” But the poker game of who suffered most gradually gave way to a more broad-minded accounting of responsibility and obligation. In West Germany, a massive redistribution of state resources in the early 1950s recognized the general claims of Jewish Germans and other survivors of the Holocaust. Germany’s restitution remains incomplete, but “never in the history of the world,” Trentmann emphasizes, “has a state been so generous to its victims.”

The public debate “between those clinging stubbornly to the idea” that World War II had been a “regular war,” he writes, and “those seeking to confront the past” structured civil society. By the mid-1950s, a protest culture made up of students and trade unionists opposed the establishment of a new German army and demonstrated against lenient sentences for war criminals. On Saturday mornings, information booths set up by citizen activists dotted market squares across Germany.

As Trentmann shows, the story was not the same on both sides of the wall. The construction of the wall in 1961 established a genuine East German identity, a “second birth”: Citizens adjusted their futures to the socialist project, allowing East Germans to put the past behind them and leave atonement to the capitalists in the West. East Germans joined factory brigades and tenant collectives, but mostly they “beavered away at home and in their dachas,” three million cabins for 16 million people.

Their moral stasis, kept in bounds by an extensive surveillance apparatus, would not last. By the end of the 1960s, East Germans had TVs, young people owned cameras and mopeds, and 40 percent of the population was overweight. Still, images of Western affluence remained stuck in their heads. In 1985, ninth graders in Magdeburg asked to complete an essay on “the year 2010” disclosed dreams about fancy cars and Cinderella marriages of hairdressers to bankers; only one student hoped that “everything should be as under socialism.”

When dreams did come true with reunification, former East Germans were shocked to find them tarnished by unemployment, lack of respect and a civic culture developed on the other side of the gate that was more attuned to German misdeeds than German suffering. Many young East Germans felt they had become exiles in their own country. “No work, no love, no homeland, no happiness,” Katja Kramer, a once-optimistic 36-year-old computer engineer, wrote as the wall fell and she was laid off.

Given the mixed success of reunification, Trentmann refrains from writing a happy ending in which “a nation of sinners turned into saints.” He also recognizes the costs and complexities of the quest for moral security in the East and West: the amnesty granted to German war criminals in the 1950s after the initial wave of denazification trials, the postponed engagement with the Holocaust, the ostentatious (and sometimes insidiously self-absolving) performance of the “good German.”

Nonetheless, as Trentmann captures, the post-1945 transformation has been remarkable. The willingness of Germans to open their borders to refugees — mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — stands out. An astonishing 55 percent of the population, he observes, “helped refugees in one way or another.” One-quarter were “‘active helpers’ who accompanied refugees to doctors and the authorities, taught them German, helped with the shopping or took them along to the local sports club.” The arrival of so many new residents (in a country of 80 million) showed a clear way of being at home in the war-torn world by making new homes for others.

Of course, moral tensions still abound. Issues such as aid to Ukraine or open doors to immigrants divide Germans, especially in the East, where many see the “blossoming landscapes” they had been promised by Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1990 as invaded by “outsiders.” This is ironic, Trentmann writes, because these are the same regions that most need “to attract newcomers to survive.”

And Jews continue to remain awkwardly set apart in German society, as the response to protests against the war in Gaza has made clear. Since October last year, government agencies have restricted demonstrations and cultural institutions have rescinded awards and canceled exhibitions in an effort to penalize antisemitism, muffling pro-Palestinian voices and equating disagreement with Israel, even by Jews, with racial prejudice.

Criticism of the government of Israel, comparisons of current events with others in the Holocaust, shock at the mass death of Palestinians — none of this is self-evidently antisemitic. Nor does it constitute evasion of Germany’s crimes in the past or its responsibilities in the present. In the name of moral clarity (or perhaps simplicity), such protective measures have pressed Jews, unsurprisingly people with varied opinions, into the old monolithic category of “the Jew.”

“Out of the Darkness” usefully reveals the roots of these ethical knots. Trentmann is still hopeful that Germans can untangle them. “Time and again,” he points out, racists “have found themselves outnumbered by the tens of thousands of citizens who joined candlelit processions” against intolerance, xenophobia and assaults on democratic institutions. “There is no German identity without Auschwitz,” Joachim Gauck said in 2015, when he was the country’s president. He was taking note of a civic achievement rather than a state rule.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS : The Germans, 1942-2022 | By Frank Trentmann | Knopf | 774 pp. | $50

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

As the International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearing arguments on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories ,  South Africa said that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians were “ a more extreme form of apartheid .”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil recalled his ambassador to Israel , as tensions escalated between the countries over the Brazilian leader’s sharp remarks against Israel’s war on Hamas. In Britain, Prince William called for an end to the fighting in Gaza  in a rare, if measured, public statement.

An Israeli raid has left Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of Gaza’s biggest hospitals, barely functioning . Health officials warned that food and fuel supplies were almost gone at another hospital that has endured a nearly monthlong  siege  in the same city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel insisted that he would not bow to international pressure  to call off the country’s plan for a ground invasion of Rafah , the southernmost city in Gaza, which is now packed with more than a million Palestinians.

A Father’s Heartache: Beginning in December, Mustafa Abutaha, a professor of English in Gaza who lost a son to the war, sent us dozens of voice and video messages , providing a window inside Nasser Medical Complex before it was raided by Israeli forces.

Building Political Pressure: Omer Neutra and Edan Alexander, young men from the New York area who were serving together in the Israeli military, were taken captive on Oct. 7 near Gaza. Their families now share one urgent goal : to free them.

An Arab Vision for Gaza: Mohammed Dahlan, a Palestinian exile and an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, provided some insights into what Arab governments are privately planning  for the battered enclave after the war ends.

A Child’s Suffering: Dareen al-Bayaa, 11, lost dozens of her family members in an airstrike on Gaza . She is one of at least 17,000 children across the territory who have been orphaned or separated from their parents.

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