SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION ‐ HOW DOES IT AFFECT XENOPHOBIC ATTITUDES?

Abstract: Globalization is a complex and constantly changing phenomenon shaping our contemporary world and societies. It is argued to generate economic growth and greater possibilities to most people in the world, but has an impact on an individual level as well, on our personal values and social attitudes. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the research done within the field of globalization and how it affects people’s attitudes towards foreign people and culture. This research area is today filled with diverse arguments, conclusions and theories about this complicated relation. Our quantitative study on globalization and xenophobic attitudes in European countries during the last decades examines whether different dimensions of the globalization, i.e. social and economic, affect xenophobic attitudes in different ways. Approached from a theoretical framework of four hypotheses suggesting how globalization affect people’s reaction on increased flows of foreign people and culture, our study states that both social and economic globalization have a relation to the level of xenophobia in a state. Furthermore, the results suggest that social globalization foster tolerance towards what is foreign while negative changes in economic globalization may increase xenophobic attitudes.