This study explored the social construction of black male Zimbabwean refugees’ identities as they experienced becoming refugees living in South Africa. A review of refugee literature revealed that Zimbabwean refugees demonstrate an exceptional nature that sets them apart from what most definitions of refugees assume. Refugee theory focusing on deficits and disorder promoted a view of refugees as helpless victims. As a result, refugees have come to be viewed as state burdens. Immigration practices characterized by the herding of refugees into spatially segregated areas, deportation and neglect continue to endanger the livelihoods of refugees. The manner in which government and media conceptualise the identity of a refugee has significant consequences for foreigners and locals. It is therefore important to explore the social construction of black male Zimbabwean refugees’ identities by investigating their own experiences through the telling of life stories. A process of in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with four black male Zimbabwean refugees between the ages of 18 and 50, all currently living in South Africa. A self told life story outlined a narrative of their past migration, present circumstances and future deliberations. Results showed that participants bore great suffering in search of a stable existence. They were subjected to political abuse and an immense economic downfall in Zimbabwe, and experienced a great shock of self-confidence upon leaving their home. They came to bear a painful sense of ‘otherness’ living as a foreigner, and had to develop new understandings of themselves. Race and religion became important signifiers of identity, and participants were said to undergo a posttraumatic growth in the aftermath of their turbulent experiences. A study such as this offers valuable insights into the aspects of a Zimbabwean refugee’s existence and needs. Research may also inform bureaucratic practices as to conceptualising more appropriate refugee relations in the future, as well as media campaigns capable of rehabilitating the image of the refugee. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

In this essay the use of othering in the novels Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah is compared. The comparative reading is carried out through the lens of a postcolonial framework comprising thoughts and ideas of, among others Edward Said and Ania Loomba. The analysis of this essay shows that while the othering in Heart of Darkness is based on an ideologically motivated conception of European superiority resulting in racism, the othering in Paradise is based on the status levels in the precolonial East Africa, where in the end economic wealth, culture and religion decided everyone’s position within the system.

The Moral Institute of Higher Fiction is an independent institute acting on urban issues in the city of Stockholm through critical spatial experiments that operate on the threshold between fact and fiction, challenging our assumptions about architectural realities. The work of the institute dates back through history and also contributes the critical projections of possible futures. It traverses, and even collapses relations between temporal and spatial continuity, in order to comment on contemporary Swedish society. We engage in our given commissions by investigating their charge of affect and ideas; how these contain and transmit the thoughts and ideas that preoccupy contemporary society, shifting our relations to ecologies, challenging skepticism and stirring belief and action - all through the telling of stories. This thesis diploma design research explores the invented construction of the MIHF in order to investigate the status of architectural reality, specifically to assert that architecture is more than merely built form and emerges instead on the threshold between fact and fiction. It follows that the design research uses the notion of the plausible, or how far a suspension of disbelief can be maintained in exploring the precarious zone where fact and fiction intersect. The research also poses questions about the temporal and spatial alterations of both architecture and society - in the search for a future field of architectural practice that consciously intervenes in a politics of space and challenges what architecture is most often assumed to be. A perpetual reconstruction of the Moral Institute of Higher Fiction is undertaken to address societal ills, including xenophobia, fear and loneliness, set against the backdrop of the city of Stockholm. All of the commissions that are undertaken by the institute actively take part in its current embodiment which is sited on the northern shore of Royal Djurgården. Manifesting as architecture, this is where the stories of the Moral Institute of Higher Fiction unfold. / Det Moraliska Institutet för Högre Fiction är ett oberoende institut som arbetar med urbana frågor i Stockholm genom kritiska spatiala experiment som opererar på tröskeln mellan fakta och fiktion och utmanar vår förförståelse av arkitektoniska verkligheter. Institutets arbete sträcker sig bakåt i tiden men bidrar också till kritiska projektioner ov möjliga framtider. Det korsar, och till och med kollapsar relationer mellan tid och rum för att kunna kommentera det nutida svenska samhället. Vi engagerar oss i våra uppdrag genom att undersöka deras laddning av affekt och idéer, hur dessa innehas och överförs till och av tankar och idéer som återfinns i vårt nutida samhälle, som skiftar relationer till ekologier, utmanar skepticism och blandar tro med aktion - allt genom att berätta berättelser. Det här examensarbetet utforskar den uppfunna konstruktionen av MIHF för att undersöka den arkitektoniska verklighetens status, särskilt för att försäkra att arkitekturen är mer än endast byggd form och att den istället uppkommer på tröskeln mellan fakta och fiktion. Undersökningen använder sig utav begreppet ‘sannolikt’, eller hur långt en uttänjning av en ‘misstro’ kan dras och upprätthållas för att utforska den prekära zonen där fakta och fiktion möts. Undersökningen ställer också frågor om tidsmässiga och rumsliga förändringar inom både arkitekturen och samhället, i ett sökande efter ett framtida fält av arkitekturpraktik som medvetet deltar i det politiska rummet och utmanar vad arkitekturen allra oftast anses vara. En ständigt pågående rekonstruktion av det Moraliska Institutet för Högre Fiktion företas för att adressera missförhållanden i samhället, förnärvarande: främlingsfientlighet, rädsla och ensamhet, utspelade med Stockholm som fond. Alla institutets uppdrag är aktivt bidragande till dess nuvarande (temporära) förkroppsligande, placerat på Kungliga Djurgårdens norra strand. Manifesterade som arkitektur, är det här som det Moraliska Institutet för Högre Fiktions berättelser avslöjas.

There is a puzzling occurrence in Western Europe: Some far-right populist parties, traditionally seen as antithetical to liberalism, are appropriating liberal rights for their own illiberal ends. On the premise that the parties instrumentalise liberal elements to achieve more legitimacy in a climate of tolerance and respect for human rights in Western Europe, this thesis examines how far-right populist parties use human rights for mobilising purposes. Using Clifford Bob’s four conceptual elements of mobilising human rights rhetoric, in a qualitative content analysis the language of three Western European far-right populist parties is analysed. It is argued that, by drawing from a liberalism of fear, far-right populists frame human rights as a Western achievement, under threat by immigration from Islamic countries and the “corrupt elite” that allows for immigration to continue. By doing so, populists manage to incorporate human rights rhetoric in their mobilisation efforts, without challenging human rights per se.

In October 2019, thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers took the streets in Cape Town and Pretoria to publicly express their dissatisfaction with their living and protection conditions in South Africa. The protests erupted one month after a series of xenophobic incidents in several urban areas. While Pretoria protests dissolved quickly, the Cape Town sit-in protests were only cleared in early 2020. In both cities, protesters claimed that poor living conditions, a lack of access to services and a constant fear of xenophobic violence and harassment had made it unbearable for them to sustain their lives in South Africa. Refugees and asylum-seekers therefore demanded improved protection and the resettlement to a safer third country. Third country resettlement forms one of the three durable solutions for refugee situation as defined by the UNHCR, besides local integration and voluntary repatriation. The South African government and the UNHCR, however, made it clear that third country resettlement could not be considered a solution for a majority of South Africa's refugees and asylum-seekers. With local integration equally failing the forced migrants in South Africa, voluntary repatriation may by default be their only option left. This study aims to explore the relation between xenophobia and voluntary refugee repatriation in a South African context. The fear of xenophobic violence that was expressed by the 2019 protesters raises doubt about South Africa's ability to meet the UNHCR's standards of refugee protection. At the same time, it compromises the protection measure of temporary local integration as outlined in the South African 1998 Refugee Act. This study will therefore explore he connection between conditions of asylum in South Africa and the decision-making process on repatriation by refugees and asylum-seekers. This study aims to contribute to better the understanding of conditions and dynamics that lead to spontaneous voluntary repatriation in refugee situations.

The purpose of this essay is to get an understanding of how the Swedish Democrats have such a prosperity in the countryside. The aim is also to see if, and in that case how, the Swedish Democrats uses religion as a tool to increase their voter support. This will be especially focused, and compared with, what the respondents have to say about the countryside. To achieve this a qualitative interview study will be used to establish the information needed. The use of a qualitative interview study is essential due to the need of profound and complex information from the respondents. The respondents sit on a big knowledge because of their close relationship with the village and the Swedish Democrats. Further on the study will be set in a small town where the Swedish Democrats have a strong support. In this small village three out of the four Sweden Democrats who sit in the municipal council lives. The study will be in close proximity with words as xenophobia and islamophobia and it aims to supplement the research previously focused on the Swedish Democrats as ideology, with its actual representatives in the countryside.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump distinguished himself from other candidates via his hardline stances on issues of immigration. Using data from national surveys conducted between 2014 and 2019, we identify three key findings about views of immigrants among the American public during the Trump era. First, xenophobia was the strongest predictor of Americans’ feelings—anger, fear, pride, and hope—about Donald Trump during his time in office, and the second strongest predictor of feelings about the Republican party (after partisan identification). Second, the influence of Americans’ levels of xenophobia on their feelings about the Republican Party were significantly mediated by their feelings about Trump, especially for negative affect (anger and fear). Third, there has been a backlash against xenophobia, such that political independents and Democrats became significantly more favorable toward immigrants after 2016. As a result, views of immigrants have become more favorable overall, but also more politically polarized. These findings support and extend immigration backlash theory, contribute to research on affective polarization, and document consequential trends in contemporary American politics.

The large number of xenophobic attacks that broke out in different places in South Africa during 2008 is still continuing unabated ten years later. We are still under pressure to come to terms with the reality that this occurred in a country that is globally considered to be an example of reconciliation. In this article the primary causes of these xenophobic outbreaks stemming from fear are scrutinised and placed within the wider framework of a culture of fear. Finally, the impact of violence and fear on practice of preaching within a Christian context is discussed, asking the question: How do we go about preaching within this fearful context?

Denna uppsats ämnar att studera ungdomars upplevelser av att leva som muslimer i Sverige, bemötandet av människor i förhållande till deras religion samt hur detta påverkar deras känsla av tillhörighet till Sverige. Datamaterialet har samlats in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta unga muslimer som har en icke-europeisk bakgrund. Studien använder de teoretiska begreppen rasifiering och tillhörighet. Resultatet i studien visar på att de unga muslimerna har upplevt en svårighet att utöva sin religion i Sverige, exempelvis när det kommer till att finna tid för bönen, att fasta samt ha tillgång till halalmat. Upplevelse av negativt bemötande i form av främlingsfientlighet, rasism samt diskriminering i relation till deras religion och etnicitet var även förekommande för flera av intervjupersonerna. Samtliga unga muslimer uttryckte att detta haft en påverkan på deras tillhörighetskänsla i Sverige då de till varierande grad upplevde en känsla av exkludering från det svenska samhället. Däremot har flera av intervjupersonerna funnit en samhörighet med andra individer i de egna bostadsområdena som befinner sig i en liknande situation som de själva när det kommer till tro och etnicitet. / This study aims to examine young people’s experiences of living as Muslims in Sweden, treatment from other people in relation to their religion and how it affects their feeling of belonging in Sweden. The data material has been collected through semi-structured interviews with eight young Muslims with a non-European background. The study uses the theoretical concepts of racialization and belonging.The results in the study shows that the young Muslims had experienced a difficulty in practicing their religion in Sweden for example when it comes to finding time for prayer, being able to fast and having access to halal food. The experience of being negatively met in the form of xenophobia, racism and discrimination in relation to their religion and ethnicity was also occurred among several of the interviewees. All the young Muslims expressed that this has influenced their sense of belonging in Sweden as they in varying degrees had felt a feeling of exclusion from the Swedish society. On the other hand, several of the interviewee shad found a community among other individuals in their neighborhoods who were in a similar situation in regard to their beliefs and ethnic background.

Background: South-Africa has a long standing history of migration. Yet in 2008 the country experienced unprecedented waves of xenophobic violence against foreigners in a number of townships around the province of Gauteng. In the aftermath negative sentiments seemed to have developed against foreign nationals. The media is a power tool in the creation of such sentiments. Through images, language, voices and representation of individuals and groups media outlets may have significant impact on the perception of its audiences on their realities. This research aimed to investigate in what ways two South-African newspapers have depicted African migrants in relation to their health and healthcare services. In resource scare settings such as South-Africa, a competition for limited services in combination with an increase of users may have contributed to a xenophobic environment. To examine this hypothesis, articles were investigated for their language use and underpinning discourses. Methods: For the analysis two Gauteng English-speaking newspapers were selected (The Star, The Sowetan). Data were retrieved from the online archive of Wits University library and selected through inclusion and exclusion criteria. Using a Jäger’s structural and fine analysis approaches, a form of critical discourse analysis, articles were analyzed according to their use of rhetoric, metaphors, subjects, voices, power relations and institutional forms of power. Furthermore, authors were investigated and all articles summarized as well as examined for their tone and atmosphere. Moreover, articles’ data were checked for their accuracy. Results and Discussion: Publications in the two newspapers on the subject of health and migration were infrequent with 38 articles between 2008 and 2015. The overall impressions of articles varied but the majority did not frame migrants negatively. Information on the authors was not readily available. Metaphors were framed around the supposedly high numbers of migrants entering the country (waves, masses, etc.). A significant word choice was the word illegal which was often used to imply a criminal act. However, many articles conveyed equally empathic views on the difficult positions of migrants. Moreover, othering through the creation of inside and outside groups were a recurrent form of presenting migrants. Several terms around foreign nationals were used interchangeably to speak about migrants irrespective of their legal status. The majority of migrants articles referred to were Zimbabweans (68%) which was often associated with a negative image. Data use in articles was difficult to confirm or reject as accurate data were not easily accessible. Both newspapers allowed various voices to be heard. There was no evidence for misuse of institutional forms of power. Overall, the main discourses in the articles were around cross-border migration and health risks, the poor management of migration, the use of resources by migrants and the health status of migrants living in South-Africa. Results are limited by the researcher’s bias based on her gender, nationality and social background which also limited the choice of data sources to English speaking newspapers. As a non-native English speaker, linguistic nuances may have gone unnoticed. Moreover, certain information was not available, including data on the authors or the layout of the articles. Lastly, this research limited itself to xenophobia against cross-border migrants and not internally displaced people or xenophobia between ethnic groups. Conclusion and Recommendations: Both newspapers fail to account for the different stories behind cross-border movements. Neither of the newspapers gave particular space to the subject itself. / M T 2019