Parliamentary representation of radical right and anti-immigration attitudes

Abstract

Does the parliamentary representation of the radical right increase anti-immigration attitudes in a country? In this paper, I hypothesize that the existence of a radical right party (RRP) in the legislature will increase negative attitudes toward immigration and polarization over this issue. I use two studies to test these hypotheses. In study 1, I employed a regression discontinuity design to causally identify the claim using the European Social Survey data from 28 countries between 2002 and 2018. In study 2, I utilized panel data of German voters to investigate the argument further. The results suggest that RRPs' parliamentary representation increases the probability of having negative immigration attitudes. The findings are robust to placebo tests and alternative specifications. This study advances our knowledge of radical-right party politics and its influences on citizens’ attitudes.