Political Influence and Anti-Immigrant Attitudes

Abstract

The study explores the mediating effects of political influence in the form of political articulation, e.g. the ‘political message’ on individual-level data measuring the effects of the level of ‘security’ and’ vulnerability’, within a given socio-economic characteristic (household income, education and employment status) on the effects on anti-immigrant attitudes. Asking the following research question: Does the effect of socio-economic characteristics on anti-immigrant attitudes depend on the level of political articulation (on the issue of immigration)? The study employs a multi-level cross-national random effects model, with up-to-date individual-level and country-level observations, controlling for interaction effects. Results are discussed within the theoretical framework of the theory of elite discourse, which suggest that the effect of the political message on anti-immigrant attitudes is magnified through political elite discourse. Results indicate that political articulation mediates the effects of vulnerability on antiimmigrant attitudes. Individuals considered ‘secure’ harbor more while individuals considered ‘vulnerable’ harbor less anti-immigrant sentiments as political articulation increase. Future studies should continue to explore the mediating effects of political articulation on the effects of individual-level characteristics on anti-immigrant attitudes to establish a better understanding of how anti-immigrant attitudes are formed and hopefully prevented within the political context.