Inglorious glorification and attachment: National and European identities as predictors of anti- and pro-immigrant attitudes.

Abstract

Anti-immigrant attitudes are not only widespread among Eurosceptic nationalists, but also among people who feel that immigration threatens European values and identity. We therefore assumed that the connection between nationalism and xenophobia can only partially explain the rise of hostile attitudes in the post-2015 period. In two online surveys (N=1,160), we compared how (a) glorification versus attachment and (b) national versus European identity can predict anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim attitudes in Hungary. In the first study, national and European glorification predicted higher anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim prejudice. However, attachment with Europe predicted positive, while attachment with Hungary predicted negative attitudes towards immigrants. We replicated this pattern in a second study and found that the different predictions of national versus European identities were mediated by attitudes towards the EU. Eurosceptic attitudes were associated with increased hostility towards both immigrants and Muslim people and reflected a perceived contradiction between the interest of the nation and that of the EU. We conclude that for a better understanding of intergroup hostility towards Muslim immigrants in Europe, we need to simultaneously consider the psychological phenomenon of ingroup glorification and the values and norms of the social categories with which people identify.