Support and Opposition to Migration

1995-2009

Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

The large-scale migration caused all sorts of tensions in the receiving countries, particularly when it became clear that immigrants planned to settle permanently and eventually claimed to participate socially and politically in their countries of settlement. However, the presence of immigrants did not yet become a politically contested issue everywhere. In some countries such as Spain, Ireland immigration did not become as politicized yet as in other European countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. The ways in which the issue of immigration became politicized are very different according the country. This research project has four aims. First, it will increase the knowledge about the conflicts over the social and political participation of immigrants in Western Europe. Secondly, it will answer to the question why and when do potential conflicts become politicized, and when and why do they not become politicized. Thirdly, the project will increase the knowledge of the way political processes are constrained by institutional conditions. Fourthly, the project will provide policy-relevant information by assessing which actions of state institutions have been more or less successful in managing conflict on immigration and integration. The project focuses on the role of four types of actors the state, political parties, movements and the media in politicizing, or de-politicizing, the issue of immigration in seven receiving countries (Austria, Belgium, Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland). The dependent variable in our study is the extent to which and the way in which the issue of immigration became politicized. This will be measured on the basis of claims and counter-claims made by three types of movements: interest groups of immigrants, anti-immigration movements, and anti-racist solidarity groups. Moreover a comparative approach will be used to study divergences and/or convergences between selected countries.

First, across all seven countries, the salience of immigration and integration was relatively low in 1995. It increased in the early 2000s and in most countries decreased somewhat in the late 2000s. Second, there are country-specific trends. Across countries, the issue is least salient in Ireland and Wallonia, and most in the Netherlands, Austria and Spain. All countries experience peaks of politicization at different points of time. Third, the debate has shifted from questions of immigration to questions of integration. Fourth, immigration is a more contested issue in certain countries than others. The United Kingdom displays the highest level of polarization over time, the German speaking part of Switzerland the lowest. There are substantial fluctuations over time, but countries where party politics is dominated by two large parties (UK and Spain) tend to be the most polarized. Surprisingly, the radical right parties are not the main claimant at the level of parties. This finding is particularly strong in Austria, and with reference to the Freedom Party (FPÖ). It is the mainstream parties that most frequently appear as claimants on the immigration issue. Fifth, salience and polarization of immigration and integration are not clearly related to the influx of immigrants, to the share of foreign-born residents, the policy responses, or the state of the economy. Sixth, country-specific factors affect polarization and salience of immigration. In all countries, politicization is a mixture of political leadership or initiative, and circumstances that provide opportunities to influence politics. In most countries politicization is driven by political parties (top-down), but in Ireland, the UK and to a lesser extent Switzerland, there is more room for civil society actors and journalists (bottom-up).