Migraciones (Nov 2014)
New-old discourses on immigration and its lived experience reflect of racism, xenophobia and xenophile in nowadays immigrant Spain
Abstract
In this article we deal with the first results of the qualitative phase of the MEXEES 3 Project that aims at the improvement of xenophobia measurement via survey. The more comprehensive research has been oriented by four specific objectives: 1. To develop more efficient indicators for registering the forms of xenophobia (and xenophile); 2. To analyze the factors affecting its manifestation or concealment; 3. To inquire about the main experiential axes of today’s xenophobic discourse and its correspondence with theoretical knowledge, 4. To test which survey design favors the declaration of xenophobic attitudes or attitudes against immigration. Although the qualitative study has provided some relevant materials for the first three objectives, here we focus mainly on the third. Together with the reflection over our methodological design and implementation, we highlight some of the concrete experiences of xenophobia and xenophile that arose whilst qualitatively interviewing natives and foreigners. Both the prevalence and actualization of the dimensions underlined in the literature are detected (the one of national-cultural identity, the one of competence for limited resources, and the one related with citizen security); to these is added the emergence of some variants related to the pre sent context of high immigration visibility in Spain, in daily life, in political discourses and the media
