Migration and Degrees of Xenophobia: Possibilities of a Xenophobia Scale

Abstract

Migration is a frequently discussed issue nowadays. This paper is concerned with a phenomenon which more often than not accompanies migration: xenophobia. A large number of researchers deal with the theoretical analysis of “being alien” but much less attention has been paid to the analysis of the forms and degrees of xenophobic behaviour. In the first part of my work I review an American project to integrate migrants, and then I make an attempt to work out a “scale of xenophobia”. Calling attention to each of the grades in our scale helps to highlight the role of laws and the state in the development of prejudices and xenophobia.