Bauman, strangerhood and attitudes towards immigrants among the Australian population

Abstract

Through an investigation of the idea of the stranger, this article seeks to blend theory with empirical research. It does this in three ways. First, it engages with a social theory of the stranger articulated in the work of Zygmunt Bauman. Second, it examines data from the Australian Election Study surveys between 1996 and 2007 in order to explore attitudinal changes towards groups of immigrants. The findings from this survey suggests that attitudes towards immigrants in general have fluctuated in Australia, despite the negative effects of economic globalization, the growth in neoliberal economic reforms and terrorist attacks in the West. Third, drawing on Bauman's theory of the stranger we provide an interpretation of these fluctuating attitudes through the idea of the hybrid stranger. Finally, we argue that a more nuanced understanding of these attitudes towards immigrants in Australia is possible when a theory of the stranger is informed by a discussion on the constitution of host self, the influence of the media, the role of government policy, and the impact of class and geography.

Attitudes to Diversity: new perspectives on the ethnic geography of Brisbane, Australia

“…296Á8) findings further tended to support the need for greater social class differentiation in any assessment of social divides. Pietsch and Marotta (2009) saw implicitly that this suggested a need for greater social class differentiation as linked to variations in concerns about job security and housing affordability among low-middle (working)-class groups, and more 440 J. Forrest & K. Dunn generally because of negative images increasingly being created about some ethnic immigrant groups.…”

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“…Louis and associates (2007) have further suggested intergroup processes related to social identity can lead to the endorsement of exclusionary behaviours. Taking another perspective, Pietsch and Marotta (2009) have drawn on the classic sociological concept of 'the stranger' to explain exclusionary beliefs. Studies such as these have all provided important theoretical insight into why Australians might exhibit exclusionary attitudes.…”

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