Violent negative attitudes towards immigrants: an integration of micro-meso-macro perspectives The South African Case

Abstract

This interdisciplinary research is about the adversarial relationship between migrants and locals in South Africa. The disciplines, Development Geography, Governance for Sustainable Development, and Cognitive & Neurobiological Psychology, each provide different insights about sub-topics based on an extensive literature review. Subsequently, these insights are integrated, using techniques developed by Repko & Szostak (2017). The aim of this research is to provide insights into the nature, and causes of the adversarial relationship between these groups. These insights will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the research problem, which may ultimately serve as a tool for the improvement of associated policies. The overarching research question is as follows: What is the influence of socio-economic inequality on the adversarial relation between migrants and locals in South Africa? Socio-economic inequality is maintained by discrimination on a macro-level as a consequence of several policy-practice gaps. In addition, resource scarcities and the inflow of international migrants strengthen -the feeling of- competition within the low socio-economic class in South Africa. Resulting from these types of competition, negative attitudes towards migrants are formed, leading to discrimination on a micro- level. Ultimately, these processes reinforce the adversarial relationship between migrants and locals.