"Globalization and the surge of anti-immigration groups in Western Europe"

Messina, Anthony M. (2001) "Globalization and the surge of anti-immigration groups in Western Europe" . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2001 (7th), May 31-June 2, 2001, pages 49, Madison, Wisconsin.

Abstract

[T]he central purpose of this paper is to explore the linkages between the surge of popular support for antiimmigrant groups and one of the more universal dimensions of globalization, the phenomenon of mass immigration. The argument this paper advances is that the unexpected and often remarkable growth of antiimmigrant groups is linked not so much to the economic or material threat posed by immigration but, rather, to a confluence of domestic factors, the most important of which is the subjective of socio-cultural threat that the permanent settlement of immigrants poses for a critical mass of "native" citizens. The variable of socio-cultural threat is not an independent one floating above the political process, however. On the contrary, as we will argue below, it is very much affected, if not primarily framed, by the mainstream domestic political actors-and particularly political parties-who, at various junctures during the post- WWII period, embraced the arrival and facilitated the settlement of immigrants. It is also significantly shaped by the rhetoric and activities of the anti-immigrant groups themselves, many of which have skillfully and successfully navigated the political opportunity structure within their respective countries to exploit the diffuse fears and resentments of native citizens.