A comparative analysis of changes in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim attitudes in Europe: 1990\u20132017

David Andreas Bell,Marko Valenta,Zan Strabac

doi:10.1186/s40878-021-00266-w

David Andreas Bell, Marko Valenta + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-021-00266-w

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Abstract

Muslims and immigrants have both been subjected to negative attitudes over the past several decades in Europe. Using data from the European Values Study, this study analyses the changes in these attitudes in the period 1990–2017. We find that negative attitudes have been increasing on average in Europe as a whole, with anti-Muslim attitudes being more prevalent than anti-immigrant attitudes. However, when split into a Western European set and an Eastern European set, from 2008, there is a divergence between the two halves. Our findings reveal that negative attitudes towards Muslims and immigrants have decreased in Western Europe, whereas they have increased significantly in Eastern Europe. Further analyses find that there are large discrepancies between anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant attitudes in different countries. These discrepancies are discussed in detail and related to several relevant factors, such as the differences in size of the Muslim and immigrant populations, variations in the refugee influx and other possible factors and developments.

Highlights

Exclusionary attitudes towards both immigrants and Muslims can be found in virtually every European country (Gorodzeisky & Semyonov, 2019)
We can see that in the whole period covered by our data, anti-Muslim attitudes remained higher than anti-immigrant attitudes
Concluding discussion Studies of prejudice have continued to find higher levels of intolerance in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe, despite most immigrants and Muslims residing in Western Europe

Summary

Introduction

Exclusionary attitudes towards both immigrants and Muslims can be found in virtually every European country (Gorodzeisky & Semyonov, 2019). Using data collected by the European Values Study (EVS) from more than 30 European countries during the period 1990 to 2017, this study we explores changes over time in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim attitudes in Europe.

Results

Conclusion