Insecurity and Attitudes toward Globalization: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines the effect of economic and civil insecurity (understood as vulnerability to economic loss and violence) on citizens’ attitudes toward globalization—understood as both the movement of humans and goods (trade) across borders. We examine whether and how perceptions of insecurity affect citizens’ attitudes toward globalization by conducting online surveys in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The survey elicits information first about individuals’ perceptions of the risk of income loss and victimization by violent crime, and second about the resources with which they can cope with these risks. We ask about citizens’ attitudes about trade in goods, and also openness to human movement across borders, as well as attitudes about democracy and authoritarian dispositions. This is a study that we hope to use as the basis on which to develop a larger and cross-national study of insecurity, democracy, and the globalization backlash.