Authoritarianism and Immigration Attitudes in the UK
Peresman, Adam ; Carroll, Royce and Bäck, Hanna LU
(2023)
In Political Studies
71(3).
p.616-633
- Abstract
Opposition to immigration has featured prominently in the “cultural backlash” to globalization in Western nations and was a key determinant of Britain’s Brexit referendum. In this article, we draw on theories of intergroup threat to examine the effect of “right-wing authoritarianism” on immigration attitudes in the UK. Previous research suggests that cultural aspects of immigration are especially important in shaping anti-immigrant attitudes. We use an original survey measuring attitudes toward immigration from differing skill levels and national origins. We find that right-wing authoritarianism is a much stronger predictor of immigration attitudes than other attributes. In addition, the effect of right-wing authoritarianism varies by... (More)
Opposition to immigration has featured prominently in the “cultural backlash” to globalization in Western nations and was a key determinant of Britain’s Brexit referendum. In this article, we draw on theories of intergroup threat to examine the effect of “right-wing authoritarianism” on immigration attitudes in the UK. Previous research suggests that cultural aspects of immigration are especially important in shaping anti-immigrant attitudes. We use an original survey measuring attitudes toward immigration from differing skill levels and national origins. We find that right-wing authoritarianism is a much stronger predictor of immigration attitudes than other attributes. In addition, the effect of right-wing authoritarianism varies by immigrant origin, most strongly predicting opposition toward immigrant groups that may be perceived as culturally distant. We also find evidence that these effects are driven by the “aggression” component of right-wing authoritarianism, a facet of authoritarianism that captures a predisposition toward the enforcement of group norms.
(Less)
- author
- Peresman, Adam
; Carroll, Royce
and Bäck, Hanna
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- authoritarianism, immigration attitudes, RWA, UK
- in
- Political Studies
- volume
- 71
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 616 - 633
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85112396026
- ISSN
- 0032-3217
- DOI
- 10.1177/00323217211032438
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a2b95d8c-605e-434a-9a8e-ad2357305f8a
- date added to LUP
- 2021-09-17 11:08:16
- date last changed
- 2024-02-20 12:21:24
@article{a2b95d8c-605e-434a-9a8e-ad2357305f8a,
abstract = {{<p>Opposition to immigration has featured prominently in the “cultural backlash” to globalization in Western nations and was a key determinant of Britain’s Brexit referendum. In this article, we draw on theories of intergroup threat to examine the effect of “right-wing authoritarianism” on immigration attitudes in the UK. Previous research suggests that cultural aspects of immigration are especially important in shaping anti-immigrant attitudes. We use an original survey measuring attitudes toward immigration from differing skill levels and national origins. We find that right-wing authoritarianism is a much stronger predictor of immigration attitudes than other attributes. In addition, the effect of right-wing authoritarianism varies by immigrant origin, most strongly predicting opposition toward immigrant groups that may be perceived as culturally distant. We also find evidence that these effects are driven by the “aggression” component of right-wing authoritarianism, a facet of authoritarianism that captures a predisposition toward the enforcement of group norms.</p>}},
author = {{Peresman, Adam and Carroll, Royce and Bäck, Hanna}},
issn = {{0032-3217}},
keywords = {{authoritarianism; immigration attitudes; RWA; UK}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{616--633}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Political Studies}},
title = {{Authoritarianism and Immigration Attitudes in the UK}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217211032438}},
doi = {{10.1177/00323217211032438}},
volume = {{71}},
year = {{2023}},
}