Xenophobia

XENOPHOBIA IS the discrimination or hatred of foreigners, either defined as outsiders or as those who are in effect part of one's own society but perceived as incommensurably different from the majority. The most pointed, long-term, and widely documented case of xenophobia in history is that of anti-Semitism.

Cavalier explanations of the dynamics of anti-Semitism, in particular, and xenophobia, in general, that treat them as results of innate characteristics of a culture or as a consequence of economic malaise in the larger society are not only insufficient, but are also conducive to the normalization and perpetuation of the hatred and violence commonly associated with such exclusionary practices. Instead, the problem of hatred of foreigners and intolerance for ethnic, religious, racial, and cultural difference has to be ...