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Strangers in Hostile Lands: Exposure to Refugees and Right-Wing Support in Germany's Eastern Regions
[journal article]
Abstract Does local exposure to refugees increase right-wing support? This paper studies a case uniquely suited to address this question: the allocation of refugees to the rural hinterlands of eastern Germany during the European refugee crisis. Similar to non-urban regions elsewhere, the area has had minimal... view more
Does local exposure to refugees increase right-wing support? This paper studies a case uniquely suited to address this question: the allocation of refugees to the rural hinterlands of eastern Germany during the European refugee crisis. Similar to non-urban regions elsewhere, the area has had minimal previous exposure to foreigners, but distinctively leans towards the political right. Our data comprise electoral outcomes, and individual-level survey and behavioral measures. A policy allocating refugees following strict administrative rules and a matching procedure allow for causal identification. Our measurements confirm the presence of widespread anti-immigrant sentiments. However, these are unaffected by the presence of refugees in respondents’ hometowns: on average, we record null effects for all outcomes, which we interpret as supporting a sociotropic perspective on immigration attitudes. Masked by these overall null findings, we observe convergence: local exposure to refugees appears to have pulled both right- and left-leaning individuals more towards the center.... view less
Keywords
immigration; refugee; accommodation; xenophobia; political right; political attitude; rural area; New Federal States; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Germany; immigration; refugees; right-wing support
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 686-717
Journal
Comparative political studies, 54 (2021) 3-4
ISSN
1552-3829
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed