Sociological perspectives to the study of xenophobia and nativism

Abstract

This article summarizes findings of sociological approaches to nativism and xenophobia, focusing on the relation between sociodemographic variables and anti-immigrant sentiments or support for the radical right. Our review of English literature shows the following: (1) the effect of demographic variables such as gender and age seems relatively strong, (2) relation between economic deprivation and support for the radical right are rather weak, and (3) radical right movements attract a variety of social class but those from lower socioeconomic strata tend to be overrepresented. Then we applied these three points to Japan and found the explanatory power of socioeconomic status was even weaker than western countries.