The Cultural and the Political Framework of Prejudice in South Africa and Great Britain

Summary The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of culture on the one hand, and of the political framework on the other upon racial prejudice. Racial prejudice among white Britions (N = 1748) is compared with that among white English-speaking South Africans (N = 647), as well as white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans (N = 1179). The study reveals that English-speaking South Africans were far closer to the British than to Afrikaners. This result indicates that cultural factors are more relevant in forming and sustaining hostile attitudes towards outgroups than the political framework within which those attitudes are held.