Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Sciences

Second Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Fidalgo, Amanda

Area of Concentration

Political Science and German Literature and Language

Abstract

Two ongoing phenomena are consistent themes in contemporary media coverage and academic literature about Europe. Massive amounts of immigration spurred on by instability in the Middle East and North Africa (in particular, the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis) and an increase in the vote share of authoritarian-populist parties. These two phenomena seem to be linked, but how? I combine a large-N analysis using the European Social Survey (focusing on Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Poland) with a small-N qualitative analysis comparing Eastern and Western Germany to explore the relationship between immigration, anti-immigrant sentiment and support for far-right parties in a European context. I find that people in countries with smaller immigrant populations developed more anti-immigrant sentiments in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis than those that in countries with large immigrant populations. I also find that anti immigrant sentiment is associated with voting for more authoritarian parties.

Download

Share

COinS