Politics Of Immigration In Europe Research Articles

On models and politics

In this concluding article, I examine the political struggle that is related to the framing of issues. I argue that the politics of immigration in Europe and the United States has been defined by a continuing conflict over how the problem is defined. I then examine the most important dynamics that are driving the framing of immigration policy on both sides of the Atlantic. Two dynamics stand out: perceptions of failure linked to security, and electoral competition and mobilization of voters.

Thick and Thin Public Sentiments and the Politics of Immigration in Europe

Abstract “Thick moralities” are those that reflect the values or way of life of a community, while “thin” moralities are those that reflect more basic claims to decency that can be recognized across even the most diverse moral communities. I use the 2008 European Values Study to examine attitudes towards immigration and the politics of left and right in the European Union and in the Schengen Area. I show that thick preferences increase opposition to immigration in Europe and that thin preferences increase openness to immigration. I also demonstrate that thick values lead to support for the right and that thin values lead to support for the left in the majority of the countries studied.

National Identities and Transnational Intimacies: Sexual Democracy and the Politics of Immigration in Europe

The so-called sexual clash of civilizations takes on a different meaning in today's Europe: it is about immigrants rather than terrorists—about contention, not expansion. As a consequence, Europe now draws the boundaries between “us” and “them” through sexual politics. Sexual democracy thus defines the borders of Europe while embodying national identities in France, in the Netherlands, and elsewhere.

Making (Normative) Sense of the Headscarf Debate in Europe

This article analyzes the most influential weltanschauungen at play in the politics of immigration in Europe. I categorize relevant value judgments into what I, following Theodore Lowi, call "public philosophies." I highlight three competing public philosophies in the politics of immigration in Europe: 1) liberalism; 2) nationalism; and 3) postmodernism. Liberalism prescribes universal rights protecting the autonomy of the individual, as well as rational and democratic procedures (rules of the game) to govern the pluralism that inevitably results in free societies. Against liberalism, nationalism stresses community and cultural homogeneity in addition to a political structure designed to protect both. Rejecting both liberalism and nationalism, postmodernism posits insurmountable relativism and irreducible cultural heterogeneity accompanied by ultimately irrepressible political antagonism. I examine the three outlooks through a case study of the headscarf debate. The article concludes with consideration of how normative ideas combine with other factors to influence policymaking.