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

Abstract

The 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.