Xenophobia, the fear or dislike of strangers, can be seen throughout the course of history in the form of communal riots, racist attacks, religious hatred, and genocide. Hindu-Muslim riots in India, Sinhalese-Tamil tensions in Sri Lanka, ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia, purging of Shias and Sunnis in Iraq and Syria, skinheads attacking immigrants, and the Jewish holocaust in Europe are a few examples.

In The New Xenophobia, Tabish Khair studies this fear in a historical, philosophical, and socio-economic context. Tracing the changes in xenophobic thinking over the past three decades, he examines the unexplored relationship of xenophobia with power and capitalism and shows how changes in capitalism have altered the image of the stranger. Through his study, Khair provides new insights into racism and slavery, and fresh perspectives on the rise of ethnic, cultural, and religious
politics in today's age of globalization.