Welcoming refugees in the rainbow nation: contemporary attitudes towards refugees in South Africa

Abstract

Modern South Africa has become a major recipient of refugees from sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. The safe integration and protection of refugees and asylum seekers in the country is undermined, however, by the presence of widespread xenophobia in the country. Such animosity has motivated anti-immigrant riots, violence, and prejudice which has negatively impacted refugee protection. Despite the seriousness of the problem, scholars have not effectively mapped the attitudes of the South African population towards granting refugees protection. The determinants of such attitudes have not been adequately explored at the national level. This paper will provide a quantitative analysis of public attitudes towards granting refugees protection in South Africa. I will use nationally representative data collected during the fifth round of Afro barometer Survey, and employ multivariate techniques for the analysis. Using this data, the author will assess the predictive power of economic competition and conflict over important symbols of the nation in determining attitudes. The political alienation hypothesis, which suggests that the politically isolated are more predisposed towards restrictive immigration attitudes, will also be tested. The findings of this study will allow us to better understand what interventions can be put in place to improve attitudes towards refugee protection.