Steven Lawrence Gordon
Biographic Data
| ID | 83054 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Steven Lawrence Gordon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Steven Lawrence |
| FAMILY NAME | Gordon |
| SIGNATURE | GORDON S L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Human Sciences Research Council |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6393-2118 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 52 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 132 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 52 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1983 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
The Pandemic of Poverty: Analysing the Economic Legacies of the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented disruption to South African livelihoods. However, this disruption was unequally felt. During the height of the pandemic lockdown, most could not work, while many lost their employment. In a labour force that was already characterised by a myriad of poorly paid and precarious work, this disruption exacerbated poverty in the country. This study explores the economic impacts of the pandemic using quantitat…
Support for immigrant welfare inclusion in South Africa: Socio-Political Drivers of Policy Preferences
Petty corruption experiences and xenophobic violence in South Africa
Past studies have shown that corruption can promote conflict and instability. However, the capacity for corruption to influence anti-immigrant violence has received little academic attention. This article examines the relationship between experiences of petty corruption and public participation in violent xenophobic behaviour. It draws on Moral Foundations Theory to argue that corruption experiences undermine the moral inhibitors that prevent an …
South African attitudes towards refugee settlement: Examining the importance of threat perceptions
Compared to many other countries, South Africa has quite a liberal refugee settlement policy. But public hostility towards refugees in the country is a serious obstacle to refugee protection. To understand what is driving anti-refugee sentiment amongst the masses, this study investigates refugee settlement policy preferences in the post-apartheid nation. Data from the 2020 round of the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Surv…
The ‘Coronavirus Crisis’ and xenophobia in South Africa: How did the pandemic affect anti‐immigrant sentiment
The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on xenophobia in South Africa is little understood. The Behavioural Immune System (BIS) theory would predict that hostility towards immigrants increases during periods of heightened pathogen stress. This BIS‐hypothesis is tested against the relative strength of three other possible drivers of anti‐immigrant sentiment. These included anger at the national lockdown system, intertemporal relative deprivation, and …
The brick in the ballot box: The relative influence of democratic discontent and identity politics in the 2024 elections in South Africa
Generation of change? South African attitudes towards climate change in comparative perspective
The risks posed by climate change have become increasingly apparent. In response, the South African government has introduced various policy measures, reflecting a commitment to transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Successfully navigating this transition requires policy processes to take account of individual preferences, concerns, and lived realities. Yet a significant knowledge gap remains. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey …
Pan-African solidarity in South Africa: An empirical public opinion analysis
Interweaving xenophobia and racism in South Africa: The impact of racial discrimination on anti-immigrant hate violence among people of colour
Self-reported experiences of racial discrimination are quite prevalent among the adult population of colour in South Africa. This article will argue that ongoing experiences of racial intolerance encourage participation in hate crime. To validate this thesis, two models are tested: (a) the Common Ingroup Identity (CII) and (b) Social Identity Threats (SITs). The former suggests that experiences of discrimination can help create a shared ‘disadvan…
Promise or precarity? South African attitudes towards the automation revolution
Rapid technological advancement has prompted growing debate about the promise and challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for societies. Some believe it will improve efficiency, productivity and quality of life, while others emphasise the risk of job loss, inequality and social exclusion. Despite the salience of these changes for human development, public opinion research on these issues remains limited in South Africa. Using data fr…
Who Helps Refugees in South Africa? An Examination of Cultural and Social Factors
Pro-refugee philanthropy is beneficial for refugee integration and an important contributor to intergroup relations in a South African context. No study, however, has provided an in-depth quantitative analysis of what factors drive this type of behaviour. This article investigates what cultural, social and religious factors may predict participation in charitable behaviour towards refugees in South Africa. Three types of behaviours were examined:…
Mass Preferences for the Free Movement of People in Africa: A Public Opinion Analysis of 36 Countries
The African Union (AU) has identified opening borders to cross-national mobility as a prime strategic goal, and AU leaders have heralded regional free movement as a vital tool for economic growth and skills development on the continent. Little, however, is known about the level (or determinants) of public support for opening borders in the AU. This article examines public preferences for free movement among 36 African countries. Using data from t…
Can social dominance orientation predict intergroup hostility and aggression in South Africa? Testing the applicability of the SDO 7(s) Scale
What role does social dominance orientation theory play in explaining anti-immigrant violence in the South African context? Despite its popularity, studies of intergroup conflict in South Africa have tended to ignore the role of social dominance orientation theory in predicting aggression against minority groups. The article explores this role by examining whether a social dominance orientation can act as a determinant of mass opinion on, and per…
Citizens’ preferences for tackling xenophobic violence in an African context: A South African case study
The ‘sacrifice’ of human rights during an unprecedented pandemic: Reflections on survey-based evidence
Twenty-five years into our constitutional democracy the Covid-19 pandemic led President Ramaphosa to declare a state of national disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (DMA). Strict lockdown regulations promulgated under the DMA had a clear bearing on human rights, such as the rights of religious observance, assembly and demonstration, association, movement, trade, and education. In the case of De Beer v Minister of Cooperati…
Understanding xenophobic hate crime in South Africa
Hundreds of violent incidents of anti‐immigrant hate crimes have been recorded in South Africa over the past two decades. Understanding how the public views this issue helps us better understand how it can be resolved. The paper identifies determinants of public attitudes towards anti‐xenophobia strategies. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey for the period 2015–2018 were used for this study. Using these data, the link between ant…
The importance of being African: Public attitudes towards immigration selection in South Africa
The African Union wants to make ‘being African' an important immigration admission criterion amongst its member states. This would be a large-scale change to border control in South Africa, altering the nation’s symbolic boundaries. But what do ordinary South Africans think about this change? And what are the determinants of public support for drawing boundaries in this way? Using data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey, this paper ar…
Understanding the attitude–behaviour relationship: A quantitative analysis of public participation in anti-immigrant violence in South Africa
Xenophobic violence is a fundamental obstacle to the mental, social, and economic wellbeing of international migrants living and working in South Africa. Currently, there is substantial contention on what determines participation in this type of behaviour. This article looks at the role of perceived threat and whether such attitudes are driving both past participation and potential participation in anti-immigrant violence. Data from three rounds …
Dark Cloud with a Silver Lining’? The Prospect of a Rise in Material Values or a Post-Material Turn in Post-Pandemic South Africa
The quarter century following the historic 1994 elections in South Africa and the establishment of a democratic dispensation was a period of transformative change. During this time, nation-building efforts were undertaken as a means of promoting redress, overcoming the country’s colonial, segregationist and apartheid past, and challenging traditions of racialised citizenship. Progressive legislation was adopted that challenged traditional aparthe…
The ‘Fuck White People’ Phenomenon in South Africa: A Discursive and Statistical Analysis
During the recent student protests in South Africa 'fuck white people' appeared on T-shirts and walls. When understood only as anti-white sentiments, these words could cause panic and fear. However, we need to determine the extent to which these opinions are shared, by whom, and what should be done to people who propagated these views. To address these questions, an item was inserted in the 2016 nationally representative South African Social Atti…
Associational Life and 'the Dark Side' of Social Capital in South Africa: A Quantitative Analysis of Anti-immigrant Behaviour
The Grave Challenge Facing South African Elections: A Loss of Hearts and Minds
The Grave Challenge Facing South African Elections: A Loss of Hearts and Minds." The Round Table, 108(3), pp. 327–328
The Popularity of State Discourses on Anti-Immigrant Violence in South Africa
Over the last 20 years South Africa has experienced a surge in anti-immigrant violence. For at least the last 10 years, the state-sanctioned interpretation of this violence was as follows: it is ‘just crime’ and not motivated by any type of xenophobic sentiment. This interpretive scheme has been challenged by commentators of all stripes. This article examines the popularity of the government’s interpretation of anti-immigrant violence by looking …
The Unconvinced Vote: The Nature and Determinants of Voting Intentions and the Changing Character of South African Electoral Politics
In the lead up to South Africa's sixth National and Provincial Elections in May 2019, the recent performance and leadership dynamics within the country's major political parties raised fundamental concerns about the potential impact on voter turnout. These concerns were not unfounded, given that the 2019 General Elections recorded the lowest voter turnout since 1994, with only 49% of the voting age public participating. Despite this, relatively l…
What Drives Citizen Participation in Political Gatherings in Modern South Africa? A Quantitative Analysis of Self-Reported Behaviour
Changing Emotion Norms in Marriage: Love and Anger in U.S. Women's Magazines Since 1900
Throughout the twentieth century, women's magazines in the United States have socialized their readers to the 'proper' expression of love and anger in marriage. Our analysis of a random sample of marital advice articles from 1900 to 1979 examines this cultural convergence of gender, marriage, and emotion. A qualitative analysis identifies techniques for socializing readers to the emotional culture of marriage and shows a historical change toward …
Neighbourhood-level social capital and anti-immigrant prejudice in an African context: An individual-level analysis of attitudes towards immigrants in South Africa
African states are often characterised as low trust societies. Could a deficiency of social capital explain prejudice towards immigrants in such societies? Using South Africa as a case study, this paper tests the effect of social trust, social bonds with neighbours and a sense of community on attitudes towards foreigners. The results reveal that social capital may be a more important predictor of attitudes than economic status. Social bonds betwe…
Waiting for the Barbarians: A public opinion analysis of South African attitudes towards international migrants
ABSTACTThe South Africa's democratic nation-building programme has sought to encourage a new non-racial nationalism. Over the last thirty years, racial divisions have lessened as the country has successfully consolidated a new democratic political system. However, interracial animosity and a sense of interracial competition continue to characterize many aspects of everyday life. Does this sense of interracial competition have an association with …
Xenophobia across the class divide: South African attitudes towards foreigners 2003–2012
In May 2008 anti-immigrant riots in South Africa displaced more than a hundred thousand people. Despite the media attention that the riots attracted, there has been no study that presents trend data on anti-immigrant sentiment for the period after 2008. This paper uses data from the nine rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey over the period 2003–2012 to fill this gap and test the success of government commitments to reduce anti-immi…
Understanding the attitude–behaviour relationship: A quantitative analysis of public participation in anti-immigrant violence in South Africa
Xenophobic violence is a fundamental obstacle to the mental, social, and economic wellbeing of international migrants living and working in South Africa. Currently, there is substantial contention on what determines participation in this type of behaviour. This article looks at the role of perceived threat and whether such attitudes are driving both past participation and potential participation in anti-immigrant violence. Data from three rounds …
Globalisation and Migrant Labour in a ‘Rainbow Nation: A fortress South Africa
Outside southern Africa little attention has been given to the lively debates, particularly within South Africa, about migration, economic integration, racism/xenophobia and exclusion. After the collapse of apartheid the Southern African Development Community (sadc) developed initiatives on regional co-operation on population movement in a far-reaching 1995 Draft Protocol on Free Movement. However, the post-apartheid South African state was conce…
What Drives Citizen Participation in Political Gatherings in Modern South Africa? A Quantitative Analysis of Self-Reported Behaviour
The Hot, the Cold and the Lukewarm: Exploring the Depth and Determinants of Public Closeness to the African National Congress
South African politics has been dominated by the African National Congress (ANC) since the country's successful transition to democracy. But what is the degree of ANC support in South Africa at the micro-level? This paper will examine individual party closeness to the ANC for the period 2008–2014. We will use data from the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey. Multivariate tests will be employed to identify the determin…
Who Helps Refugees in South Africa? An Examination of Cultural and Social Factors
Pro-refugee philanthropy is beneficial for refugee integration and an important contributor to intergroup relations in a South African context. No study, however, has provided an in-depth quantitative analysis of what factors drive this type of behaviour. This article investigates what cultural, social and religious factors may predict participation in charitable behaviour towards refugees in South Africa. Three types of behaviours were examined:…
Associational Life and 'the Dark Side' of Social Capital in South Africa: A Quantitative Analysis of Anti-immigrant Behaviour
The Unconvinced Vote: The Nature and Determinants of Voting Intentions and the Changing Character of South African Electoral Politics
In the lead up to South Africa's sixth National and Provincial Elections in May 2019, the recent performance and leadership dynamics within the country's major political parties raised fundamental concerns about the potential impact on voter turnout. These concerns were not unfounded, given that the 2019 General Elections recorded the lowest voter turnout since 1994, with only 49% of the voting age public participating. Despite this, relatively l…
Racial animosity and political party partisanship in South Africa: The case of the African National Congress and the Black African majority
As it is in many countries, racial rhetoric is a feature of South African national government elections. The use of such rhetoric provokes the question, how much is political party support in the country driven by interracial animosities? Using the nationally representative public opinion dataset, the South African Social Attitudes Survey, this article looks at party closeness to the African National Congress (ANC) amongst the black African popul…
Mass Preferences for the Free Movement of People in Africa: A Public Opinion Analysis of 36 Countries
The African Union (AU) has identified opening borders to cross-national mobility as a prime strategic goal, and AU leaders have heralded regional free movement as a vital tool for economic growth and skills development on the continent. Little, however, is known about the level (or determinants) of public support for opening borders in the AU. This article examines public preferences for free movement among 36 African countries. Using data from t…
Understanding xenophobic hate crime in South Africa
Hundreds of violent incidents of anti‐immigrant hate crimes have been recorded in South Africa over the past two decades. Understanding how the public views this issue helps us better understand how it can be resolved. The paper identifies determinants of public attitudes towards anti‐xenophobia strategies. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey for the period 2015–2018 were used for this study. Using these data, the link between ant…
The importance of being African: Public attitudes towards immigration selection in South Africa
The African Union wants to make ‘being African' an important immigration admission criterion amongst its member states. This would be a large-scale change to border control in South Africa, altering the nation’s symbolic boundaries. But what do ordinary South Africans think about this change? And what are the determinants of public support for drawing boundaries in this way? Using data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey, this paper ar…
The Popularity of State Discourses on Anti-Immigrant Violence in South Africa
Over the last 20 years South Africa has experienced a surge in anti-immigrant violence. For at least the last 10 years, the state-sanctioned interpretation of this violence was as follows: it is ‘just crime’ and not motivated by any type of xenophobic sentiment. This interpretive scheme has been challenged by commentators of all stripes. This article examines the popularity of the government’s interpretation of anti-immigrant violence by looking …
Shutting the Gates in South Africa: National Identification and Popular Attitudes towards Closing Borders to Immigration
More than a hundred thousand people crisscross South Africa's international borders annually. Public opinion on this cross‐border migration is decidedly hostile. According to a 2013 opinion poll, more than three‐fifths of the adult population would favour closing the border. Can civic and ethnic identifications with the nation explain this opposition to immigration? Using data from the 12th (2013) round of the cross‐sectional South African Social…
A Desire for Isolation? Mass Public Attitudes in South Africa Toward Immigration Levels
In the last decade incidents of xenophobia in South Africa have been prevalent. Are such anti-immigration attitudes related to a desire for isolationism in the country and support for a withdrawal from world affairs? Using data from the 2013 round of the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey (N = 2,739), this article was able to shed light on determinants of anti-immigration attitudes using multivariate techniques. Forei…
South African attitudes towards refugee settlement: Examining the importance of threat perceptions
Compared to many other countries, South Africa has quite a liberal refugee settlement policy. But public hostility towards refugees in the country is a serious obstacle to refugee protection. To understand what is driving anti-refugee sentiment amongst the masses, this study investigates refugee settlement policy preferences in the post-apartheid nation. Data from the 2020 round of the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Surv…
The brick in the ballot box: The relative influence of democratic discontent and identity politics in the 2024 elections in South Africa
Pan-African solidarity in South Africa: An empirical public opinion analysis
Interweaving xenophobia and racism in South Africa: The impact of racial discrimination on anti-immigrant hate violence among people of colour
Self-reported experiences of racial discrimination are quite prevalent among the adult population of colour in South Africa. This article will argue that ongoing experiences of racial intolerance encourage participation in hate crime. To validate this thesis, two models are tested: (a) the Common Ingroup Identity (CII) and (b) Social Identity Threats (SITs). The former suggests that experiences of discrimination can help create a shared ‘disadvan…
Citizens’ preferences for tackling xenophobic violence in an African context: A South African case study
The ‘sacrifice’ of human rights during an unprecedented pandemic: Reflections on survey-based evidence
Twenty-five years into our constitutional democracy the Covid-19 pandemic led President Ramaphosa to declare a state of national disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (DMA). Strict lockdown regulations promulgated under the DMA had a clear bearing on human rights, such as the rights of religious observance, assembly and demonstration, association, movement, trade, and education. In the case of De Beer v Minister of Cooperati…
The ‘Fuck White People’ Phenomenon in South Africa: A Discursive and Statistical Analysis
During the recent student protests in South Africa 'fuck white people' appeared on T-shirts and walls. When understood only as anti-white sentiments, these words could cause panic and fear. However, we need to determine the extent to which these opinions are shared, by whom, and what should be done to people who propagated these views. To address these questions, an item was inserted in the 2016 nationally representative South African Social Atti…
Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis
Anger and Aggression: An Essay on Emotion , by James R. Averill
Gay Couples
Anger: The Struggle for Emotional Control in America's History. Carol Zisowitz Stearns , Peter N. Stearns
The Emotions
Changing Emotion Norms in Marriage: Love and Anger in U.S. Women's Magazines Since 1900
Throughout the twentieth century, women's magazines in the United States have socialized their readers to the 'proper' expression of love and anger in marriage. Our analysis of a random sample of marital advice articles from 1900 to 1979 examines this cultural convergence of gender, marriage, and emotion. A qualitative analysis identifies techniques for socializing readers to the emotional culture of marriage and shows a historical change toward …
Madwives: Schizophrenic Women in the 1950s. Carol A. B. Warren
Passions Within Reason: The Strategic Role of the Emotions
Person to Person
Jealousy: The Evolution of an Emotion in American History. Peter N. Stearns
Emotions and Violence: Shame and Rage in Destructive Conflicts. Thomas J. Scheff , Suzanne M. Retzinger
Globalisation and Migrant Labour in a ‘Rainbow Nation: A fortress South Africa
Outside southern Africa little attention has been given to the lively debates, particularly within South Africa, about migration, economic integration, racism/xenophobia and exclusion. After the collapse of apartheid the Southern African Development Community (sadc) developed initiatives on regional co-operation on population movement in a far-reaching 1995 Draft Protocol on Free Movement. However, the post-apartheid South African state was conce…
Emotionalizing Organizations and Organizing Emotions
Representing foreign workers in the private security industry: A South African perspective on trade union engagement
In recent years South African cities have become home to a large number of undocumented migrant workers. If trade unions do not organise undocumented migrant workers, it opens up such workers to exploitation and maltreatment by employers, thereby creating a split labour market that undermines the entire labour movement. This article focuses on the responses of the national trade union movement in the private security sector to the presence of und…
Neighbourhood-level social capital and anti-immigrant prejudice in an African context: An individual-level analysis of attitudes towards immigrants in South Africa
African states are often characterised as low trust societies. Could a deficiency of social capital explain prejudice towards immigrants in such societies? Using South Africa as a case study, this paper tests the effect of social trust, social bonds with neighbours and a sense of community on attitudes towards foreigners. The results reveal that social capital may be a more important predictor of attitudes than economic status. Social bonds betwe…
Xenophobia across the class divide: South African attitudes towards foreigners 2003–2012
In May 2008 anti-immigrant riots in South Africa displaced more than a hundred thousand people. Despite the media attention that the riots attracted, there has been no study that presents trend data on anti-immigrant sentiment for the period after 2008. This paper uses data from the nine rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey over the period 2003–2012 to fill this gap and test the success of government commitments to reduce anti-immi…
Individual Trust and Distrust in South African Trade Unions: A Quantitative Analysis, 2011–2013
The South African organized labour movement is one of the most powerful on the African continent. A central actor in the democratic struggle, the movement continues to play a crucial role in the post-apartheid period. However, public opinion data collected by the South African Social Attitudes Survey for the period 2011–2013 suggest that only a minority of the public currently trust the organized labour movement. No cleavage in individual trust i…
Profiling South African gender inequality in informal self-employment
South Africa is a nation with high unemployment, and informal self-employment can offer an escape from poverty. For this reason, many South African women are currently self-employed. Men also enter the informal sector and though in the minority, they tend to earn more than women. The aim of this paper was to construct a profile of gender differences in South African informal self-employment using the 2005 Labour Force Survey and the 2005 Survey o…
Immigration policies that include or exclude: A South African public opinion study of immigration policy preferences
South Africa is a regional hub for migration on the African continent and is home to a growing documented international migrant community. Foreigners in the country, however, often face violations of their established rights and are the victims of abuse. This paper examines public support for policies that would exclude international migrants from the country. Data from the 2013 South African Social Attitudes Survey, a nationally representative o…
Shutting the Gates in South Africa: National Identification and Popular Attitudes towards Closing Borders to Immigration
More than a hundred thousand people crisscross South Africa's international borders annually. Public opinion on this cross‐border migration is decidedly hostile. According to a 2013 opinion poll, more than three‐fifths of the adult population would favour closing the border. Can civic and ethnic identifications with the nation explain this opposition to immigration? Using data from the 12th (2013) round of the cross‐sectional South African Social…
A Desire for Isolation? Mass Public Attitudes in South Africa Toward Immigration Levels
In the last decade incidents of xenophobia in South Africa have been prevalent. Are such anti-immigration attitudes related to a desire for isolationism in the country and support for a withdrawal from world affairs? Using data from the 2013 round of the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey (N = 2,739), this article was able to shed light on determinants of anti-immigration attitudes using multivariate techniques. Forei…
Waiting for the Barbarians: A public opinion analysis of South African attitudes towards international migrants
ABSTACTThe South Africa's democratic nation-building programme has sought to encourage a new non-racial nationalism. Over the last thirty years, racial divisions have lessened as the country has successfully consolidated a new democratic political system. However, interracial animosity and a sense of interracial competition continue to characterize many aspects of everyday life. Does this sense of interracial competition have an association with …
“The Friends of Our Friends Are Our Friends”: Determinants of Hosts’ Contact with International Migrants in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Quality contact between host and international migrant communities can create opportunities for migrants to integrate into host communities. While contact should not be seen as synonymous with integration, for migrants, social networks with hosts can open up access to information as well as social and economic opportunities within host communities. This chapter seeks to better understand the determinants of social ties between hosts and internati…
Who Is Welcoming and Who Is Not? An Attitudinal Analysis of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in South Africa
Recurrent xenophobic violence in South Africa highlights the strong undercurrent of popular opinion opposition to international immigrants. This article examines public attitudes towards the international immigrant community in South Africa and the factors influencing those attitudes. The author uses public opinion data from the 2014 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). The article will show that there is an asymmetry in the processes o…
Understanding semantic differential measures in modern South Africa: Attitudes of Black Africans towards White South Africans
The future success of South Africa’s unique democracy depends on the development of harmonious race relations. Understanding the factors underlying the country’s interracial attitudes is, consequently, important. Social identity theory suggests that Black African attitudes towards White people are connected to their evaluations of South Africa’s other racial minorities. This thesis seems counterintuitive given that White people are associated wit…
Political science (42 works) · Sociology (39 works) · Psychology (29 works) · Law (27 works) · Politics (25 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Immigration (20 works) · Law (19 works) · Economics (18 works) · Social Psychology (15 works)