preview

Immigration And Immigration

Decent Essays

Public opinions of the citizenry make up these countries that have exclusive immigration policies and it is important to observe how these opinions influence politics. Also, anti-immigrant sentiments and populist public opinions create internal borders for immigrants making it crucial to understand the basis for immigrants exclusion in Europe. The first two theories are based off the idea of perceived threat of the immigrant population. These two theories are not objective, but mainly based on the perceptions of the people who perceive the immigrants as other. The difference between the two are what is the perceived threat over certain interests. The first is the perceived threat over material interests such as welfare benefits, economic resources, jobs, etc. Economic interests can be one factor that predicts immigrant hostility, but it should not be declared the major factor. The second is the perceived threat of symbolic interests such as national identity, way of life, cultures, etc. This can be observed in the trends of Islamophobia in Europe, specifically looking at Austria. The third hypothesis to mitigate the anxiety, whether it be material or symbolic, is through social contact theory. However, social contact theory becomes harder to implement as States are shaped by critical external events that motivate a certain response of the state that reinforces the concept of other, changing the majority-minority dynamic.
The perceived threat over material interests

Get Access