The rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in European societies, 1988-2000 – Semyonov, Raijman and Gorodzeisky

Résumé du document

This text is an article written by three scholars about the rise of anti-foreign sentiment in European Societies (especially 12 countries). Their analysis is based on both theories and the compilation of data, in order to understand why some places are more likely to be concerned with the rise of this sentiment. In the introduction, the authors explain that there are two main bodies of research in sociology about the attitudes towards foreigners and ethnic minorities.

The first one assumes that the individuals who are more vulnerable are more likely to discriminate against minorities because they feel threatened. The second body focuses on structural cross-variations, in order to show that the discriminatory process is the result of both individual and structural level variables. This article aims at examining the changing dynamic relations between both the size of ethnic minorities and economic conditions, and the rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in Europe. Political mechanisms are also taken into consideration in their analysis.
In their opinion, prejudice can be seen as a defensive reaction toward threats and challenges.

They are particularly interested in the ‘competitive threat' model in explaining negative attitudes toward foreigners. This model is based on the assumption that there is a competition between groups over power, rewards and collective identity. If we focus on the individual-level, we can argue that this attitude is the result of self-interest aspirations. At the group level, these attitudes are the effects of threats to the identity of the majority (especially national).

Extraits

[...] The rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in European societies, 1988-2000 Semyonov, Raijman and Gorodzeisky This text is an article written by three scholars about the rise of anti-foreign sentiment in European Societies (especially 12 countries). Their analysis is based on both theories and the compilation of data, in order to understand why some places are more likely to be concerned with the rise of this sentiment. In the introduction, the authors explain that there are two main bodies of research in sociology about the attitudes towards foreigners and ethnic minorities. [...]

[...] The political aspect is also essential according to them because our attitudes depend on whether or not we attach importance to extreme-right ideologies. In my opinion, this article is quite relevant because it gives us experimental evidences which confirm the idea there has been a rise of anti- foreign sentiment in Europe since the 1980s. I think this article does not provide interesting explanations to this phenomenon. The authors repeat the same idea all along the text. References Semyonov, M., Raijman, R., Gorodzeisky, A. (2006): The Rise of Anti- Foreigner Sentiment in European Societies, 1988-2000. [...]

[...] For instance, those who discriminate against ethnic minorities the most are generally the most vulnerable. These people may be orientated toward right- wing political parties. In their study about the rise of this anti-foreigner sentiment over the last decades in Europe, the authors explain that migration has considerably changed the face of Europe because of its significant increase. This migration can be very different from one country to another, especially in terms of composition and history, but migrants are always seen as ‘foreigners'. [...]

[...] This model is based on the assumption that there is a competition between groups over power, rewards and collective identity. If we focus on the individual-level, we can argue that this attitude is the result of self-interest aspirations. At the group level, these attitudes are the effects of threats to the identity of the majority (especially national). Hence, for individuals, there are both a preservation of self- interests (economic for instance) and the fear of losing a collective identity. According to the authors, all studies which examine cross- national variations relied on two indicators. [...]

[...] Then, the authors explain the models which were created to observe the rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in Europe. These models confirm the idea that anti-foreign is more probable in areas of foreign-groups concentration or where people live through tough economic conditions. All models show there was a significant rise in negative views towards foreigners. Other specificities about people having these views may be put forward: such attitudes are more pronounced among old people, low-skilled and unemployed people, more among men than women In their conclusion, they explain the main aim of the article was to show there has been an increase in anti-foreign sentiment within European societies, especially since the 1980s. [...]