Migration, Xenophobia and Democracy
Prabin K. Prajapati
Context:
In connection with growing a number of extreme right wings and their significant presence in election in Western countries with the voice of anti-immigrations feeling in common voters, the international migration has become an issue on political debate and threat to democracy. Recently, British National party has come up and secured a number of seats in British parliament is a reflection of growing xenophobia in native British people. Hollifield (2000) mentions the argument of Weiner, Western democracy that the rise in xenophobic and nationalistic politics in Western Europe indicates that even the most advanced industrial democracies risk being destabilized politically by a “massive” influx of unwanted immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The basis of the argument is that how many foreigners a society can absorb. In the same way another Historian Schlesinger Jr. sees immigration and the rise of multiculturalism poses a threat to society and leading potentially to the disuniting America and Western Europe. The reason behind the idea that nation states are being threatened by globalization from above and multiculturalism from below (Brettell C.B. and James.F.H.,2000). Besides, late after the decade of world war second, influx and increasing visibility of non Europeans, right wing populist parties tried to revive the racism in Western Europe accusing government efforts on integrations of migration- ‘multiracial, multiethnic, and multi-religious society comes closer to hell than to paradise’. Scaring the risk of loosing historical identity the right wing populist parties evoke growing resentment or xenophobia among western ethnicity. Ever since, it is questioned on global citizenship, human right and democracy.
British Nationalist Party:
In the backdrop of growing electoral success of the other radical populist right wing parties in the late 1980s which showed there are a number of significant people they evoke anxiety and resentment on non European migrants. Following the contemporary wave in Western Europe, in 1982, a new political party ‘The British National Party’ (BNP) was established in Britain. According to its constitution, it is committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non white immigrant and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to World War Second. The BNP also proposes "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home." The party advocates the repeal of all anti-discrimination legislation, and restricts party membership within British Ethnicity deriving from the class of ‘Indigenous Caucasian’. The BNP is open for white immigrants that are assimilated into one of those ethnicities. British National Party is a far-right and whites only political party in the United Kingdom. It presumes wide popularity and claims to have 100 councilors including parish or community councilors, though the BBC a popular news media house estimates it has about 56. The party holds a London-wide seat on the London Assembly, but is not represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In the 2005 UK general election, the BNP received 0.7% of the popular vote, giving it the eighth largest share of the vote, although it was fifth overall among English seats. In the 2007 Welsh Assembly Election, BNP came fifth in terms of votes for the regional lists with 4.3% of the vote, winning no seats. In 2008 Mayoral election the party secured 5.23% of the popular vote and finishing to 5th largest party in the rank. The party eventually was successful electing Mayoral candidate Richard Barnbook to the Greater London Assembly. British National Party is primarily campaigning against immigration and feels that Britain has already been full of foreigners by which they fear that they will face themselves ethnic minority soon. The authentic websites of British National Party argues ‘Britain is full and it’s time to shut the door and to kick out all immigrant criminals, bogus asylum seekers and anti-Western Islamists’ . Messina and Lahav (2006) maintain that ‘xenophobia has proven to be such a powerful political issue that even the Scandinavian Progress parties have increasingly resorted to mobilizing antiforeigner sentiments in order to revive their political fortunes’. In this sense British National Party is not free of this prejudice therefore it has promoted racism and spreading xenophobia to native inhabitants in Britain.
Emergence of Right Wing Populists Party and Western Democracy:
Following the decades of Second World War, Western Europe comparatively enjoyed stabilized politics and booming industrial growth. During this decade, western democracy flourished in its height. Late 1960, ideological resurgence and political turbulence, rising social conflicts in early 1970, new social movement and mass protest in 1980s brought profound transformation on West European politics. BNP is the outcome of this social movement and mass protest which was intimated to ethnicity of native inhabitants. The reason behind this resentment was disenchantment with the major social and political institutions and profound distrust in their workings, the weakening and decomposition of electoral alignments and increased political fragmentation and electoral volatility (Messina, and Lahov 2006:388). This right wing populist party is erosion from the democratic ethics because, they have completely ignored the significant contributions made by migrants in the high economic growth and built western affluent society. The allegation to migrant that they deprive natives of job opportunities is rather questionable since most of these migrants have to work those jobs which natives do not want to. Migrants are not social burden as it has been accused by radicalists, they are work force which consumes, pays taxes and contributes to social security and pension system. Besides it Western Europe needs more migrants for the work force since their population pyramid is on crisis. Decreasing fertility rate and a number of significant populations going to be on retired age there will be acute shortage of labour.
The secondary issue that Right Wing Populist party raised is tax relaxation for greater freedom and accuses existing bureaucracy and other institution at monopolization of political power which hampers economic progress and suppresses true democracy. As per indicating corruption and inefficiency of existing party, the Populist Party accuses that the existing party doesn’t properly represent the average native people’s aspirations. The conclusion drawn about Right Wing Populist parties is merely programmatic mixture of xenophobia and neo-liberalism might thus be seen as response to current global changes which produce winner and losers. In addition, the ideology of populists party can be characterized as neo-isolationism in a future “fortress Europe”. Their better performance in advanced economic region has created resentment not only immigrants but fellow countrymen (ibid 2006:392). In the globalization process in which more focus has been given to modernization, the western world has new cultural values in mass consumption and production with the help of new technology. The right wing populist parties’ mobilization of public sentiments into political resentment or xenophobia is merely reaction against the change however it doesn’t show that they were able to give a new direction to this change.
Conclusion:
Right Wing Populist Parties strategically manipulating the mixture of working class and new middle class voters for their electoral alliance. These groups who are afraid of modernization winner within advance western democracies are threatened by marginalization. This new emerged groups believe in arbitrariness of market on individual life chances and which as a result of their relative high level of education are well prepared to play the game of individual effort, self promotion and self advertisement (Messina, G.Lahov 2006:397). It is suspected that these parties direct their xenophobic message to those social groups which have to compete with non European immigrants who are comparatively better by skills and education. The climate of insecurity, particularly among unskilled or semiskilled workers and unemployed youth without complete education, is one of the potential breeding grounds of xenophobia and radical right wing populist support. The latest right wing populist western political parties allure working class and new middle class social groups for the electoral alliance on condition of individual morality, individualism, and self determination. Those marginalized blue collar workers, young people with lower level of education and unemployed support right wing populist parties because left wing party didn’t address their frustration and resentment. The rise and success of radical right wing populism in Western Europe is the result of increasing social and cultural fragmentation and differentiation of advance western societies. In the expression of ego-centrism, ‘fortress Europe’ and nationalist separatism as in the hostility towards foreigner and the denunciation of the welfare state these right wing populist parties are symptoms as well as distasteful by product of general turbulence of the present age.
References:
Caroline B. Brettell, James F. Hollifield (eds.) (2000)
Migration theory: talking across disciplines
Messina, A.M. and G. Lahav (eds. 2006) The Migration Reader: Exploring Politics and Policies. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, London.
Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller (2003)
The age of migration: international population movements in the modern world
http://bnp.org.uk/category/columnists/nick-griffin/ retrieved 3 Jan. 2009
