The New Racism in Europe: A Sicilian Ethnography (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Immigration is among the most contested issues in Western Europe. Studies commonly focus on political activity and the plight of minorities, but this book breaks new ground in its emphasis on the everyday reactions of Italians to immigration, nationalism and racism. Drawing on research carried out in Palermo, Jeffrey Cole considers the ambivalent responses of rich and poor Sicilians to immigrants. He places Italian attitudes in a European context, and investigates why anti-immigrant politics are concentrated in the wealthy Italian North.