Theories of Comparative Politics

Xenophobia and the New Nationalisms

by
Mabel Berezin

Presented by:

Danyal Tariq

MSc International Relations

Introduction
The author, Mabel Berezin, did her Ph.D. from Harvard University and her major revolved
around the sociology of culture and politics. In this article, she described the terminology
Xenophobia as a fear of being distinguished from the rest, particularly a larger group which can
be a society, class, or even a whole nation. The Nation-State system has been the locus of
territory for the emergence of xenophobia. The institute of war elaborated on the politics and
territories of the countries, nationality dealt with the cultural limits of the state. The notion of
localism shut the entrances for the outsiders. Should the modern welfare system be open to all
the people residing in the states or only for its citizens? Well, the later can open the doors for
xenophobia, as had been the case in many regions.

Analysis
Tolerance is not just in the behavior, but rather, in the political system of the institutions. As
institutes learn to develop tolerance over time, individuals will automatically follow the course.
Xenophobia became a political reality since the 1980s, especially in western Europe, which saw
discrimination against Jews, then with the African immigrants. In Frankfurt, the jews had to pay
a tax simply because of their religion. Religion can be a major, and sometimes, the biggest cause
of xenophobia. Over History, Jews had been in the major discussions of xenophobia because
they did not have a land and a state.
Contemporary racism, as opposed to instant killing, is a slow agony of being excluded and
denied of the resources. In France and Germany, Turkish were outsiders in two senses. First,
they were seen as outsiders because of their different countries of origin and second, due to their
different religion. The xenophobia acts are interlinked with the discourse of the public about
problems the outsiders bring and asylum seekers. In spite of quick mobilization against racism,
France has continued to see incidents in new waves.
Recently, Social Scientists started to establish boundaries of xenophobia inside Europe, by
classifying structural, social, and cultural crisis. With the dynamic environment of labor markets
in Europe and lessening of the jobs in the industry, immigration further sparks the crisis.
Deindustrialization has caused the disruption of the social settlements which provided support to
the welfare system earlier. In addition to the rising unemployment rate, a paradox has evolved in
the welfare states of Europe. Unlike the United States, Europeans provide heavy subsidies for the
functions of the public. Prejudice evolves with the threat perception.
Xenophobia is maximum in the ethnic cohesive societies. But the relationship amid xenophobia
and policy for immigration has been the most dominated studies. Literature on Social Science
mainly has not gone too far from the primary attention on immigration policy in spite of the
fixation of immigration for more than ten years in Europe. Anti-immigration sentiments in Italy
are on the rise too, with racism being the most important factor of prejudice. A darker skin color
would more likely make one the subject of prejudice. Italy has become a state of violence against
the immigrants and the anti-immigrant sentiments are also backed by the political parties of the
country.
The two-flavor model of prejudice was developed for research in Italy. The first one dealt with
the psychological accounts of hatred, describing the individual response to any differential
subject of the society. Social Psychology was the focus, which was needed to be refined. For
refinement, the second flavor was needed which had to be rational. The hatred reflected on the
struggle for limited resources – we dislike them because they took our jobs. Categorization is
required for both the flavors, telling who is like them and who is not. The researchers argued that
differences amid races, ethnic groups, and nations are present to some extent in every society of
modern times. This model came to be known as the ‘Right Shock model’, which suggested a
structural analysis.
The Right Shock model also suggested that when a society fears threat from the immigrants, they
are most likely to turn to their authorities request for law and order. The political wings which
make maximum use of this promise can exploit and gain more support in the elections. The
research also concluded that when the categorization of others is tended to be more, the law and
order situation can worsen more, especially in contemporary Europe.

Critical Analysis

The author has taken Western Europe in his research and the developments of political and
cultural norms since the twentieth century mostly. Social Scientists need to consider longer
developments in politics when accounting for xenophobia in nations and states. The chances of
immigration policy posing threats to the Europeans are higher than the immigrants. The relation
of the citizens with their history has a strong link with their feelings about the integration of their
countries. Xenophobia is a political and social phenomenon which is very volatile. Not only
immigration has posed this challenge, but the integration of Europe has also concluded more and
the same to this volatile phenomenon.