Margarita Sanchez-mazas Cutanda

Xenophobia: Social psychological aspects

Xenophobia refers to a fear of the stranger that has taken on diverse forms throughout history and is conceptualized according to different theoretical approaches. Often confounded with racism in modern times, the concept of xenophobia is rooted in universal fears of the unfamiliar, but also in specific historical traditions and regulations regarding the place devoted to outsiders within host societies. With the rise of the nation-state and the development of migration, xenophobia depicts immigrants, asylum seekers, or populations of immigrant descent as posing a material or identity threat to nationals.