Intolerance in Western Europe: Analysis of trends and associated factors: Summary report

Abstract

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND focuses on the issues that matter most, such as health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more. As a nonpartisan organization, RAND operates independent of political and commercial pressures. We serve the public interest by helping lawmakers reach informed decisions on the nation's pressing challenges. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. www.randeurope.org About this reportThis study, commissioned by the Open Society Foundations, aimed to situate the widely-shared perception of rising intolerance in Western Europe in the context of empirical evidence on high-level trends in intolerant attitudes in Western Europe. Through analysis of European datasets, a review of empirical literature, and assessments of trends in selected individual countries, we explored whether intolerance has risen more in some countries than others, whether it has risen more against particular groups, if such attitudes are particularly prevalent among subgroups of the population and if there are clear patterns of association with trends in wider political, social, economic and cultural factors.