Norwegians’ Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Symbolic Politics and Group Threat

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www.seipub.org/ijss

International Journal of Sociology Study Volume 2, 2014

Norwegians’ Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Symbolic Politics and Group Threat Justin Allen Berg, Rebecca Folkman Gleditsch Department of Sociology, University of North Dakota 225 Centennial Drive Stop 7136, Grand Forks, ND 58202-7136 justin.berg@email.und.edu; Rebecca.gleditsch@my.und.edu Abstract This study examines the extent to which symbolic politics and group threat theories explain Norwegian citizens’ opinions regarding the impact of immigration on their country and on the policy of voting rights for the foreignborn. With data from the 2012 European Social Survey, the results indicate that economic threat and especially cultural threat drive Norwegian citizens’ attitudes toward immigrants while symbolic politics play a comparatively larger role in the formation of their policy attitudes. Individuals in Norway likely consider the potential costs and benefits of immigration when forming their attitudes toward the foreign-born, yet, when it comes to deciding on immigration policies, they are more likely to resort to their latent political values by taking cues from traditional political parties and ideologies. One implication is that if extreme right-wing parties and political elites achieve more media coverage, restrictionist immigration policies may be expected to be supported by a larger contingent of the population, regardless of the actual costs and benefits of immigration into Norway. Keywords Immigration Attitudes; Symbolic Politics; Group Threat

Introduction Within the last 20 years the number of people migrating to new countries has increased substantially, with the European nations being one of the most popular destinations (UN News Centre 2013). Unsurprisingly, native-born citizens express a wide range of opinions regarding a variety of immigration issues. As Fussell (2014) discusses in her review article, there are many explanations for the variation in immigration attitudes, with some research showing that individual characteristics matter, such as educational attainment and racial prejudice (Hainmueller and Hiscox 2007; Pettigrew 1998), and other research showing that the interpersonal environment has an effect, such as the level and type

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of contact between members of the majority and minority groups (Escandell and Ceobanu 2009). In particular, recent research on immigration attitudes in European nations has highlighted the importance of political values (e.g., Ceobanu and Escandell 2010). Party affiliation and left-right political ideologies play a significant role in shaping Europeans’ immigration attitudes (e.g., Bohman 2011; Semyonov, Raijman, and Gorodzeisky 2006), independent of their cognitive calculations of the costs and benefits of immigration. However, across nations, group threat appears to be a primary driver of immigration attitudes (Ceobanu and Escandell 2010; McLaren 2003; Quillian 1995). It is particularly powerful in explaining the immigration attitudes among native-born residents in geographic areas that have experienced a comparatively quick influx of foreign-born residents during a time when there is a national conversation occurring about the costs and benefits of immigration (Hopkins 2010). Such dynamics are currently playing out in Norway. Since the year 2000 the number of immigrants arriving in Norway has doubled, making its foreign-born population grow to 12 percent of the overall population (Statistics Norway 2014). The national discussion about immigration and immigration rights has been growing as well (e.g., see Erlanger 2014). Analyzing Norwegians’ immigration attitudes, especially regarding policy issues, is valuable for several reasons. Understanding the dynamics that influence the formation of immigration attitudes of native-born citizens in different countries allows scholars to identify fundamental and common factors. Such knowledge may help international organizations better work with national leaders to be able to successfully integrate foreign-born individuals into new communities. Norway also has a homogenous population, with only between 5 to 7 percent of its residents being ethnic minorities (CIA 2014; Statistics


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Norwegians’ Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Symbolic Politics and Group Threat by Shirley Wang - Issuu