"Xenophobia and Contact: European Attitudes toward Immigrants," presentation by Prof. Set Jolly of Syracuse University, Sept. 13, 2013, at the FedEx Global Education Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. Produced by the UNC Center for European Studies. CES video channel: http://youtube.com/UNCEurope More CES events: http://europe.unc.edu/events/ces-series TransAtlantic Masters Program: http://europe.unc.edu/tam

1. Xenophobia and Contact:
European Attitudes toward Immigrants
Seth Jolly
Syracuse University
Friday the 13th
2013

2. A
Changed
Europe

3. Switzerland’s SVP

4. Boiling Points

5. Motivating Questions
• Racial Attitudes/Xenophobia
• Demographic change
• Economic threat

6. Contact Theory
Intergroup contact ➔ peaceful relations &
reduced animosity

7. US White Attitudes toward
Black Soldiers
0
15
30
45
60
Dislikeintegration
No black soldiers in platoon
Black solders in division, not same regiment
Black soldiers in same regiment, not company
Black soldiers in company

8. Group Threat
• If perceived group threat
• contact ➔ antipathy

9. Mixed Empirical
Results
• Radical Right support and foreign-born
population.
• Cross-national studies of xenophobia

10. Hypothesis: Following the contact theory
(threat theory), as local immigrant
populations increase, xenophobic or racist
attitudes will decrease (increase).

11. Data
• Three datasets
• 2002 French National Election Study
(FNES)
• 1999 French census
• Eurostat REGIO database
• Unit of Analysis
• Individuals nested in departments

13. Xenophobia scale
Xenophobia
[4.96,7.53]
(7.53,8.555]
(8.555,9.2]
(9.2,10.69]
No data
Sources: French electoral panel, 2002 & INSEE Recensement de la population, 1999

14. Independent Variables
• Individual
• Ideology
• Party cue
• SES
• Perceptions of economic threat
• Department
• Unemployment rate
• Foreign-born population

15. Immigration
Foreign share
[.61,1.77]
(1.77,3.38]
(3.38,4.56]
(4.56,6]
(6,18.72]
Source: INSEE Recensement de la population, 1999

16. Patterns
Xenophobia Foreign Population
Xenophobia
[4.96,7.53]
(7.53,8.555]
(8.555,9.2]
(9.2,10.69]
No data
Sources: French electoral panel, 2002 & INSEE Recensement de la population, 1999
Foreign share
[.61,1.77]
(1.77,3.38]
(3.38,4.56]
(4.56,6]
(6,18.72]
Source: INSEE Recensement de la population, 1999

17. HLM. Xenophobia
Explanatory Variable CoefficientCoefficient
L/R Ideology 0.50 ***
Party Cue 1.13
Muslim -3.10 **
Education > High School -2.13 **
Foreign Pop Share, Dept -0.09 **
Unemployment Rate, Dept 0.06
Additional controls, random effects includedAdditional controls, random effects includedAdditional controls, random effects included
N = 3,226 N(Groups) = 78N = 3,226 N(Groups) = 78N = 3,226 N(Groups) = 78

18. Effect of foreign population
5
6
7
8
9
10
Predictedvaluesforxenophobia
5 10 150 20
Department foreign population share

19. United in Diversity

20. Discussion
• In France, higher numbers of foreign-born
population ≈ less xenophobia
• Public attitudes matter
• Need to extend to more countries