scholarly journals Perceptions, Resentment, Economic Distress, and Support for Right-Wing Populist Parties in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Economic Distress ◽  
Economic Threat

Research has demonstrated that resentful emotions toward the politics<em> </em>and perceptions of being culturally and economically threatened by immigration increase support for populist parties in some European countries, and that macro-level economic conditions engender those perceptions and emotions and increase populist support. This article reveals that household-level economic conditions also affect perceptions of cultural and economic threat by immigrants. Low- and middle-income populations are more vulnerable to suffer economic distress due to macro-level factors such as import shock, which can increase their resentment toward democracy, and their perceptions that immigration is a cultural and economic threat, therefore increasing the likelihood to vote for populist parties. A mediation analysis using the European Social Survey data from 2002 to 2018 provides evidence for the argument.

Economic conditions and perceptions of immigrants as an economic threat in Europe: Temporal dynamics and mediating processes

2021 ◽  
pp. 002071522199352
Author(s):  
Boris Heizmann ◽  
Nora Huth
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Economic Threat ◽  
Party Positions

This article addresses the extent to which economic downturns influence the perception of immigrants as an economic threat and through which channels this occurs. Our primary objective is an investigation of the specific mechanisms that connect economic conditions to the perception of immigrants as a threat. We therefore also contribute to theoretical discussions based on group threat and realistic group conflict theory by exposing the dominant source of competition relevant to these relationships. Furthermore, we investigate whether people react more sensitive to short-term economic dynamics within countries than to the long-term economic circumstances. Our database comprises all waves of the European Social Survey from 2002 to 2017. The macro-economic indicators we use include GDP per capita, unemployment, and national debt levels, covering the most salient economic dimensions. We furthermore control for the country’s migration situation and aggregate party positions toward cultural diversity. Our results show that the dynamic short-term developments of the economy and migration within countries are of greater relevance for perceived immigrant threat than the long-term situation. In contrast, the long-term political climate appears to be more important than short-term changes in the aggregate party positions. Further mediation analyses show that objective economic conditions influence anti-immigrant attitudes primarily through individual perceptions of the country’s economic performance and that unemployment rates are of primary importance.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Age and Happiness Varies by Income

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimiter Toshkov
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Old Age ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe link between age and happiness has been the subject of numerous studies. It is still a matter of controversy whether the relationship is U-shaped, with happiness declining after youth before bouncing back in old age, or not. While the effect of age has been examined conditional on income and other socio-demographic variables, so far, the interactions between age and income have remained insufficiently explored. Using data from the European Social Survey, this article shows that the nature of the relationship between age and happiness varies strongly with different levels of relative income. People in the lowest decile of the income distribution experience a ‘hockey stick’: a deep decline in self-reported happiness until around age 50–55 and a small bounce back in old age. The classic U-curve is found mostly in the middle-income ranks. For people at the top of the income distribution, average happiness does not vary much with age. These results demonstrate the important role of income in moderating the relationship between age and happiness.

scholarly journals LEFT, RIGHT, AND ANTISEMITISM IN EUROPEAN PUBLIC OPINION

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-371
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Е. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
European Public ◽  
Mass Publics ◽  
Right Wing Populism

Antisemitism has long been found on both the political far-right and farleft. The recent rise in antisemitism worldwide raises the question of whether current antisemitism is found more with the far-right or far-left, the former a function of right-wing populism and the latter with what has been termed the new antisemitism. This paper uses data from the 2014 round of the European Social Survey in 20 nations to test for the connection between ideological selfplacement and antisemitic attitudes in mass publics. Analysis finds greater levels of antisemitism with the extreme far-right compared to the far-left, but extreme leftists appear slightly more antisemitic than moderate leftist. Further, there is less antisemitism than anti-Muslim and anti-Roma (Gypsy) attitudes at all positions on the left-right continuum. The conclusion puts the findings into context and suggests directions for future research.

scholarly journals How does Income Inequality affect the Support for Populist Parties?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Stoetzer ◽  
Johannes Giesecke ◽  
Heike Klüver
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Causal Mediation Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Recent studies provide evidence that income inequality is a relevant driver for the electoral success of populist parties all over Europe. In this article, we aim to understand how exactly increasing income inequality can lead to support for populist parties. More specifically, we discuss four different attitudinal mechanisms that have been suggested in previous research: economic insecurities, trust in political elites, social integration and social identity. We rely on eight waves of the European Social Survey and find that especially trust in political elites is linked to rising income inequality and populist support. However, a causal mediation analysis shows that none of these mechanisms is sufficient to understand the impact of income inequality onsupport for populists. This finding raises questions regarding the empirical relevance of existing theories to explain how macroeconomic changes in inequality became a pre-condition for the rise of populist parties.

scholarly journals Are anti-immigrant attitudes the Holy Grail of populists? : A comparative analysis of attitudes towards immigrants, values, and political populism in Europe

Intersections ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-127
Author(s):  
Vera Messing ◽  
Bence Ságvári
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Competition Theory ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
And Migration

In this paper we aim to discuss attitudes towards immigrants in a European context and analyse drivers of anti-immigrant attitudes such as the feeling of control, basic human values, political orientation and preferences related to right-wing populism. Based on data from the European Social Survey, we first describe how attitudes of people in Europe changed throughout a period of almost two decades (between 2002 and 2018). We will show that although attitudes are influenced by a number of demographic and subjective features of individuals, on the macro-level they seem to be surprisingly stable, yet hide significant cross-country differences. Then, we zoom in to the three most significant elements influencing attitudes towards immigrants: the feeling of control, basic human values, and political orientation. Applying a multi-level model we test the validity of three theories about factors informing attitudes towards immigrants—competition theory, locus of control, and the role of basic human values—and include time (pre- and post-2015 refugee-crisis periods) into the analysis. In the discussion we link ESS data to recent research on populism in Europe that categorizes populist parties across the continent, and establish that the degree to which anti-migrant feelings are linked to support for political populism varies significantly across European countries. We show that right-wing populist parties gather and feed that part of the population which is very negative towards migrants and migration in general, and this process is also driven by the significance awarded the value of security vis-à-vis humanitarianism.

Right-wing populist attitudes among European public servants – A cross-country comparison

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-506
Author(s):  
Wouter van Acker
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
European Public ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes

Thus far, there has not been any investigation into the populist held beliefs and attitudes among public servants. These attitudes, given the considerable discretionary decision power of public servants, and their influence in policy-making processes, could have a significant impact on public policies. This paper investigates the populist attitudes of public servants, based on data that are retrieved from the European Social Survey. The paper compares public servants from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The results show that public servants hold surprisingly similar populist views as compared with non-public servants, and that there are striking differences between countries. There are significant implications for the work public servants do, and the representativeness of the administration.

scholarly journals The Christmas Market Attack in Berlin and Attitudes Toward Refugees: A Natural Experiment with Data from the European Social Survey

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Nägel ◽  
Mark Lutter
Keyword(s):  
Causal Effect ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Changing Attitudes

ABSTRACT: Using a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines changes in attitudes toward refugees after the terrorist attack on the Berlin Christmas Market of December 19, 2016. In our analysis, we make use of random variation in the field period of the European Social Survey (ESS) to fashion a natural experimental design. The survey’s field period took place in Germany from August 23, 2016, to March 26, 2017. Hence, the Christmas market attack took place approximately halfway through the ESS’s field phase, thus making it possible to study the causal effect on changing attitudes toward minorities before and after the attack. We argue that the terrorist attack creates a spillover effect and negatively shapes public opinion of uninvolved ethnic minorities. Our data analysis suggests that immediately after the event, only people with a right-wing political attitude appear to be affected by the proposed spillover effect. However, we find that the worsening of attitudes toward refugees can also be observed in the general population as time progresses. We do not find variation according to educational levels.

scholarly journals Self-employment as atypical or autonomous work: diverging effects on political orientations

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giedo Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Employment Share ◽  
Class Voting ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Political Right

Abstract It is often held that the self-employed are an economically conservative, political right-wing class. Previous studies, however, have primarily dealt with self-employed workers as a relatively monolithic social class with shared interests as entrepreneurs and (potential) employers. But, with its recent rise, self-employment has developed into a heterogeneous employment type, with a growing number of dependent and precarious self-employed. In this article, the political preferences of people in self-employment are compared to the preferences of employees on temporary contracts. In doing so, hypotheses are tested from both classic theories on class voting, as well as theories on job precariousness and labor market vulnerabilities. For this purpose, European Social Survey Round 4 (ESS-4) data on eight West European countries are analyzed. The findings suggest that particular segments of self-employment share the characteristics of other forms of ‘atypical’ work, not only with respect to labor market insecurities, but also regarding the political orientations associated with such insecurities.

scholarly journals The Christmas Market Attack in Berlin and Attitudes Toward Refugees: A Natural Experiment with Data from the European Social Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-221
Author(s):  
Christof Nägel ◽  
Mark Lutter
Keyword(s):  
Causal Effect ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Changing Attitudes

Abstract Using a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines changes in attitudes toward refugees after the terrorist attack on the Berlin Christmas market of December 19, 2016. In our analysis, we make use of random variation in the field period of the European Social Survey (ESS) to fashion a natural experimental design. The survey’s field period took place in Germany from August 23, 2016, to March 26, 2017. Hence, the Christmas market attack took place approximately halfway through the ESS’s field phase, thus making it possible to study the causal effect on changing attitudes toward minorities before and after the attack. We argue that the terrorist attack creates a spillover effect and negatively shapes public opinion of uninvolved ethnic minorities. Our data analysis suggests that immediately after the event, only people with a right-wing political attitude appear to be affected by the proposed spillover effect. However, we find that the worsening of attitudes toward refugees can also be observed in the general population as time progresses. We do not find variation according to educational levels.

scholarly journals Does Health Vulnerability Predict Voting for Right-Wing Populist Parties in Europe?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
NOLAN M. KAVANAGH ◽  
ANIL MENON ◽  
JUSTIN E. HEINZE
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Economic Vulnerability ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
The Relationship

Why do voters in developed democracies support right-wing populist parties? Existing research focuses on economic and cultural vulnerability as driving this phenomenon. We hypothesize that perceptions of personal health vulnerability might have a similar influence on voters. To test this argument, we analyzed all waves of the European Social Survey (2002–2020). Our findings suggest that voters with worse self-reported health were significantly more likely to vote for right-wing populist parties. The relationship persists even after accounting for measures of cultural and economic vulnerability, as well as voters’ satisfaction with both their personal lives and their country’s health system. The influence of health on support for right-wing populist parties appears to be greater than that of income and self-reported economic insecurity, while less than that of gender and attitudes about immigrants. Our findings suggest that policies affecting public health could shape not only health outcomes but also the political landscape.

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