Terms of exclusion: Public views towards admission and allocation of rights to immigrants in European countries

Anastasia Gorodzeisky, Moshe Semyonov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

145 Scopus citations

Abstract

The paper contends that exclusionary views towards out-group populations are formed along two dimensions: exclusion from the country and exclusion from equal rights. Data obtained from the European Social Survey (for twenty-one countries) reveal that objection to the admission of foreigners to the country is more pronounced than objection to the allocation of 'equal rights'. The data further suggest that objection to admission can be directed either at all non-nationals or only at ethnic and racial minorities. 'Total exclusionists' (i.e. support exclusion of all non-nationals) are more likely to support the denial of foreigners from equal rights than 'racial exclusionists' (i.e. support only exclusion of ethnic minorities). Multi-level analyses show that support for exclusion is also influenced by socio-economic characteristics of individuals (e.g. education, political orientation) and characteristics of their countries (e.g. size of the non-European population). The findings are discussed in light of sociological theory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)401-423
Number of pages23
JournalEthnic and Racial Studies
Volume32
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Mar 2009

Keywords

  • Cross-national analyses
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Europe
  • Exclusionary attitudes
  • Immigration
  • Racism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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