Black South Africans’ Attitudes toward African Immigrants between 2008 and 2016

Abstract

Instead of the term “xenophobia,” the dislike of immigrants, the term “Afrophobia” is increasingly being used to describe black South Africans’ hatred of the African other. This study analyzed nine rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (2008–2016) in order to assess the evidence for Afrophobia among black South Africans. The evidence of Afrophobia among black South Africans is unconvincing. Black South Africans evinced different attitudes toward different groups of foreigners. Instead of simplistic explanations for anti-immigrant sentiment, there is a need for a more detailed and nuanced analysis of why some immigrant groups are more disliked than others.