The ‘Coronavirus Crisis’ and xenophobia in South Africa: How did the pandemic affect anti‐immigrant sentiment?

Abstract

AbstractThe impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on xenophobia in South Africa is little understood. The Behavioural Immune System (BIS) theory would predict that hostility towards immigrants increases during periods of heightened pathogen stress. This BIS‐hypothesis is tested against the relative strength of three other possible drivers of anti‐immigrant sentiment. These included anger at the national lockdown system, intertemporal relative deprivation, and racial transformation ideology. For these tests nationally representative data (N = 2996), gathered during the height of the ‘Omicron’ wave, were used. Multivariate analysis showed that COVID‐19 exposure was not associated with more negative sentiments towards immigrants. Fear‐based reactions to the Coronavirus were, in fact, correlated with pro‐immigrant attitudes. Intertemporal relative deprivation and transformation orientations were much better predictors of anti‐immigrant sentiment than pathogen stress. These findings raised questions about the applicability of the BIS‐hypothesis in the context of the Coronavirus and suggest new avenues of academic inquiry.