‘Birds of a feather’? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far right electorate

Stockemer, D., Halikiopoulou, D. and Vlandas, T. (2021) ‘Birds of a feather’? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far right electorate. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47 (15). pp. 3409-3436. ISSN 1369-183X doi: 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1770063

Abstract/Summary

This article focuses on the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far-right electorate. Drawing on the distinction between the predictive power of immigration concerns, and the question of how widespread these concerns are among the far-right voter pool, we proceed in two steps. First, we assess the extent to which anti-immigration attitudes are a necessary condition for voting far right; and second we examine whether far right voters with different levels of anti-immigration attitudes exhibit similar individual and attitudinal characteristics. Using data from the 8th wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) we find that, surprisingly, anti-immigration attitudes are not a necessary condition for voting for the far right as approximately one third of far-right voters have no concerns over immigration. We further show that far-right voters with different levels of immigration concerns have different profiles when it comes to other predictors of the far right-vote including ideological affinity, attachment to the EU and government satisfaction. Our contribution is significant as we suggest that there are different routes to voting for the far right by groups with different grievances, including non- immigration related.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/90739
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/1369183X.2020.1770063
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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