Where Does Xenophobia Matter? Examining the Relationship Between Xenophobia and Punitiveness in an International Context

• In Event: Comparative and Cross-National Comparisons of Attitudes and Perceptions of Laws, Legal Systems, Offenders and Punitiveness

Abstract

Multiple studies have shown the importance of xenophobia and anti-immigrant attitudes for understanding punitiveness. Scholars have found a consistent association between xenophobia and punitiveness across a wide arrange of countries and periods. Multilevel studies have also shown that the macro-level context influences the emergence of such attitudes that funnel punitiveness. Our study builds on these findings to further examine this association in a cross-national context. Specifically using data from 28 countries across all continents from the wave 7 of the World Value Survey conducted between 2017 and 2020, this study seeks to examine the macro-level mechanisms that influence this association both through affecting the levels of xenophobic attitudes and the strength of the association between xenophobia and punitiveness. In doing so, our study seeks to gain a more nuanced understanding of the macro-level elements that are conducive not only to the proliferation of xenophobic attitudes but also to identify the specific conditions in which those attitudes are more likely to trigger punitive attitudes. Importantly, the inclusion of a diverse arrange of countries across all continents will allow to more fully explore whether the link between xenophobia and punitiveness is universal or an idiosyncratic process located in the Global North.

Authors

• Cecilia Chouhy, Florida State University

• Sylwia Piatkowska, Florida State University