Abstract
Migration is topical in many counties, and attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity are volatile. In our longitudinal “Diversity Barometer”, we have studied changes in Swedes’ attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity in Sweden since 2005, using a postal questionnaire sent to a random sample of the Swedish population aged 18–75. In this article, we analyzed data from 2020 (n = 1035) in comparison with previous Diversity Barometer surveys from 2005 to 2018. The findings showed that Swedes had increased contact with immigrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The majority had good experiences of studying or working with people with foreign background, although those with bad experiences had also increased. Attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity were more positive in 2020, thereby stopping a negative trend that started with the refugee influx in 2015. Positive attitudes were more established among women, younger people, those with higher education, people living in larger cities and those with more contact with people with foreign background. Sympathizers of political parties closer to the left wing were more positive towards immigration and ethnic diversity. We used political correctness, contact theory, strain theory and theory about group conflict/threats to provide hypothetical explanations for the observed changes in attitudes.
Highlights
Attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity have been topical and controversial over many decades, with studies showing both positive and negative attitudes (Holloway and Leach 2020; Novus 2014; Schütze 2020)
Securitization discourses and restrictive policy can in turn increase negative attitudes towards migration, as observed by the negative trends in the Diversity Barometer after the 2015 refugee influx to Sweden
This study shows that Swedes’ attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity have become more positive
Summary
Attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity have been topical and controversial over many decades, with studies showing both positive and negative attitudes (Holloway and Leach 2020; Novus 2014; Schütze 2020). In Sweden, the Diversity Barometer studies have been conducted since 2005 to examine attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity (Ahmadi et al 2015, 2020a, 2020b). The subsequent studies in 2016 and 2018 show increased negativity towards immigration and ethnic diversity, explained by the refugee crisis in 2015 when Sweden received many refugees from the Middle East (Ahmadi et al.2020a, 2020b). Political and media discourse has focused on the shortcomings of Swedish immigration policies This discourse has negatively affected public opinion on immigration and ethnic diversity. Sweden is facing augmentation of far-right/anti-immigration political parties and groups, which jeopardizes the Swedish welfare policy. This article, based on the Diversity Barometer studies, is relevant for researchers and policy makers in Sweden and other countries facing similar immigration-related dilemmas. We do so by analyzing data from 2020 in comparison with results from the previous Diversity Barometer studies
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