Multiple Strains: Identifying Heterogeneity in Anti-Immigrant Positions from a Within- and Between-Country Cluster Analysis

• In Event: 20862 - Section on International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Attitudes Toward Immigration

Abstract

Anti-immigrant and xenophobic attitudes are clearly on the rise. To date, traditional examinations of anti-immigrant sentiment focus on identifying predictors of a person’s level of xenophobia, conceptualizing anti-immigrant sentiment as a matter of degree. Other researchers, however, characterize anti-immigrant attitudes from the perspective of type—a configuration of beliefs animating immigrant opposition. Building on insights about degree and type, the purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which multiple strains of xenophobic thinking co-exist within nations and which strains are most common across nations. We characterize a strain as a distinct configuration of strong and weak support for 14 anti-immigrant beliefs coupled with 14 characteristics of the belief holders’ social location and perceived life circumstances. Examining World Values Survey data (wave 7, 2017-2022) from 10 countries, results from a k-means within-country clustering analysis show that there are qualitatively different types of xenophobia in each country, which strongly suggests that “anti-immigrant sentiment” is fueled by different types of supporters and mechanisms. Notably, we find that countries typically have one strain of anti-immigrant sentiment that is tightly coupled with national identity but (at least) one other strain that is not. Namely, almost as common as ideologically right-wing groups espousing xenophobia are non-nationalistic groups opposing immigrants on the basis of what appears to be a form of social alienation and status insecurity. In fact, when comparing across countries, we find that alienation (and not economic security or nationalism) emerges as the common thread across all different configurations of anti-immigrant sentiment. We conclude with a discussion of what these different strains and the underlying theme of alienation suggest about the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment.

Authors

• Ei Miyauchi, University of Iowa

• Freda B. Lynn, University of Iowa

• Xavier Escandell, Grinnell College