WorldViews: Joe Bidens weird insistence that the U.S. is the only non-xenophobic country in the world
Vice President Biden was in Iowa this week, doing something that looked suspiciously like presidential campaigning.While speakingatDrake University in Des Moines on Thursday, he struck a populist tone, and even made his very first gaffe of the 2016 campaign("butt buddies").
For a journalist who writes about foreign policy, however, it was somethingelse that stood out. Biden, while talking about President Obama's immigration reform, told the audiencethatthe United States was the"only country in the world that isn't xenophobic."
That's a remarkably bold statement, even by the lofty standards of American exceptionalism: The vice president isn't just saying that levels of xenophobia are low or that America is less xenophobic than its rivals. He's sayingthat the United Statesis not xenophobic, period, and every other country in the world is.
ForBiden, America's lack of xenophobia is a recurring theme. Last year, he caused a minor stir by making a similarstatement at an event of theNational Association of Manufacturers.Look at Germany, look at the rest of the world," Biden said. "Were the only non-xenophobic nation in the world thats a major economy.
Of course, noteveryone is convinced by these statements. And certainly, thetiming of Biden's latest comment seems especially unfortunate. Itcomes just daysafter an Indian grandfatherwas left paralyzed after being thrown to the ground by an Alabama police officerand just days after three young Arab Americans were shot dead in North Carolina. Is this the xenophobia-free country Biden was talking about?
Xenophobia -- defined as a "fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners" -- isn't an easy thing to measure, especially on an international scale. It's often conflated with personally held racism or religious prejudice, which is alsoparticularly difficult to measure across the world. For example, a couple of years ago, WorldViews published a map that attempted to chart racial prejudice around the world, using data from aWorld Values Survey. The map showed the percentage of respondents who listed"people of a different race" as those they would not want for neighbors.
The United Statesdid scorewell in this ranking, appearing to be one of the most racially tolerant countries on Earth. However,many observers pointed out that the way the question was phrased made it difficult to compare across countries: The very concept of race significantly differed around the world.
"The challenge is that for some places, this is about race, for others it is about religion or language, etc.," Steve Saideman, an academic who studies race and ethnic conflict, explains in an e-mail. "So, it is hard to write a good set of questions that applies universally."
Saideman suggests that an easier way to define xenophobia -- and, importantly, one that Biden himself appears to be referencing -- is in terms of attitudes to immigration. Here, U.S.history is obvious: It's a country built around massive immigration, and that still holds true today. Despite some bitter opposition, the country does let in a hugeamount of immigrants when compared to other countries.
For evidence, check out thischart below, which uses data compiled by the Migration Policy Institute. It comparesimmigrant populations over the past few decades betweenthe United States andother major economies. The United States is far, far ahead.
Continue reading here:
WorldViews: Joe Bidens weird insistence that the U.S. is the only non-xenophobic country in the world