Publication alert: "A Tale of Two Logics: How Solidarity and Threat Perceptions Shape Immigrant Attitudes toward Immigration in Western Europe" by Michael Neureiter and Felix Schulte
12.12.2022
In their article "A Tale of Two Logics: How Solidarity and Threat Perceptions Shape Immigrant Attitudes toward Immigration in Western Europe", Michael Neureiter and his co-author Felix Schulte (European Centre for Minority Issues) examine the determinants of public attitudes toward immigration. Unlike previous studies on the subject, they are not primarily interested in the immigration attitudes of the majority population; rather, they focus on the views of individuals with a migration background (i.e., first- and second-generation immigrants). In doing so, the authors develop a theoretical framework that specifies the conditions under which immigrants’ attitudes toward immigration become more or less positive. One of these conditions is variation in the host countries’ public opinion climates. The authors theorize that experiences with personal discrimination lead to increased solidarity with prospective immigrants and, thus, more positive attitudes toward immigration, while discriminatory climates stemming from government institutions – particularly in the form of assimilation pressure – have the opposite effect. Evidence from the European Social Survey (ESS) in 15 West European countries over a period of 18 years (2002-2019) supports these theoretical expectations.
