In the wake of extreme right electoral success : A cross-country comparative study of anti-immigration attitudes over time

• This article tests a theoretically assumed relationship between the parliamentary presence of extreme right parties (ERP) and anti-immigration attitudes over time. Data come from six rounds of the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2012 and cover the 16 European countries that participated in all rounds during this time. Using multi-level models with applications for repeated cross-sectional data, the study examines the implications of changes tied to the political advancements of the extreme right with a focus on three possible scenarios: people’s attitudes about immigration have generally become more negative, opposition towards immigration has become more dependent on immigrants’ ethnicity, and attitudes towards immigration have become more polarized. Contrary to expectations, it is found that neither the presence, the representational strength, nor the nationalistic framing of an ERP affect opposition towards immigration over time. Thus, the conclusion is that the ERPs, so far, have not driven anti-immigration attitudes in Europe. Possible explanations for these results are discussed in the concluding section.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

ERP

immigration

prejudice

political representation

over time

sociologi

Sociology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)