The conditional effects of the refugee crisis on immigration attitudes and nationalism

Abstract

What was the impact of the 2014–2016 refugee crisis on immigration attitudes and national identification in Europe? Several studies show that radical right parties benefitted electorally from the refugee crisis, but research also shows that anti-immigration attitudes did not increase. We hypothesize that the refugee crisis affected right-wing citizens differently than left-wing citizens. We test this hypothesis by combining individual level survey data (from five Eurobarometer waves in the 2014–2016 period) with country level statistics on the asylum applications in 28 EU member states. In Western Europe, we find that increases in the number of asylum applications lead to a polarization of attitudes towards immigrants between left- and right-leaning citizens. In the Southern European ‘arrival countries’ and in Central-Eastern Europe we find no significant effects. Nationalistic attitudes are also not affected significantly.

Users’ polarisation in dynamic discussion networks: The case of refugee crisis in Sweden

“…Some scholars suggest that the crisis had effects on the European immigration policies, as well as on public opinion and attitudes to both forced and voluntary migration. The crisis, it has been argued, caused the mainstream media perceptions of migrants and refugees to change towards more prejudiced and hostile ones [ 34 ], while the attitudes of the Europeans holding right- or left-wing views have become more polarised [ 35 ]. Representing a “hybrid media environment”, social media have been found to be suitable platforms for polarisation among those who used online social networks to discuss the events of 2015 [ 36 ].…”

Does Immigration Boost Public Euroscepticism in EU Member States?

“…| 21 Stockemer et al, 2020;Van der Brug and Harteveld, 2021) by studying it from a public opinion standpoint. Doing so, I offer a new perspective by suggesting that Eurosceptic attitudes among the public may not be as sensitive to changes in EU asylum and immigration policies as one may have previously thought.…”

“…Second, I expand the literature on EU asylum and immigration policy. While scholars in this field have invested productive efforts in studying it from a legal or public administration perspective (e.g., El-Enany, 2008;Geddes, 2008;Guiraudon, 2003;Kaunert, 2009Kaunert, , 2010Kaunert and Léonard, 2012a, 2012b, I join recent studies by approaching it from a public opinion standpoint (Jeannet et al, 2021;Stockemer et al, 2020;Van der Brug and Harteveld, 2021), suggesting that public opinion on European integration may not be as sensitive to changes in EU asylum and immigration policies as one may have previously thought. Third, I contribute to the emerging literature on the political consequences DOES IMMIGRATION BOOST EUROSCEPTICISM?…”

Does immigration boost public Euroscepticism in European Union member states?

“…Second, this study expands the literature on EU asylum and immigration policy by approaching it from a different academic perspective. While past scholars have studied it extensively from the legal and public administration perspectives, I follow recent work (Jeannet et al, 2021; Stockemer et al, 2020; Van der Brug and Harteveld, 2021) by studying it from a public opinion standpoint. Doing so, I offer a new perspective by suggesting that Eurosceptic attitudes among the public may not be as sensitive to changes in EU asylum and immigration policies as one may have previously thought.…”

“…While scholars in this field have invested productive efforts in studying it from a legal or public administration perspective (e.g. El-Enany, 2008; Geddes, 2008; Guiraudon, 2003; Kaunert, 2009, 2010; Kaunert and Léonard 2012a, 2012b; Léonard and Kaunert, 2019, 2020), I join recent studies by approaching it from a public opinion standpoint (Jeannet et al, 2021; Stockemer et al, 2020; Van der Brug and Harteveld, 2021), suggesting that public opinion on European integration may not be as sensitive to changes in EU asylum and immigration policies as one may have previously thought. Third, I contribute to the emerging literature on the political consequences of misperceptions about immigration (e.g.…”