Journal Article

From Stigmatized Immigrants to Radical Right Voting: A Multilevel Study on the Role of Threat and Contact

Fasel, Nicole, Green, Eva G. T., Baur, Robert, Sarrasin, Oriane

2016

Overview

This study examines the interplay between presence of stigmatized immigrants, threat, and inter group contact that underlies radical right voting (voting propensity and actual district-level vote results). On the one hand, low-status immigrants are often stigmatized and depicted as threats. Thus, presence of stigmatized immigrants should heighten threat perceptions, thereby increasing radical right voting. On the other hand, as positive contact with stigmatized immigrants is known to reduce anti-immigrant prejudice, it should also attenuate radical right voting. As predicted, multilevel path analyses with the Swiss Election Studies 2011 data (N = 1,736 respondents in 136 districts) revealed that the proportion of stigmatized immigrants (from former Yugoslavia and Albania) in districts heightened perceived threat. Threat perceptions, in turn, increased propensity to vote for the Swiss People's Party, the major radical right party. In contrast, experiencing positive, everyday contact with former Yugoslav and Albanian immigrants reduced voting propensity through attenuated threat perceptions. Contact and threat perceptions were also related to the actual vote through voting propensity.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd,Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subject: Conservatism / Districts / Elections / Foreigners / Immigrants / Immigration / Intergroup contact / Intergroup relations / multilevel mediation / Noncitizens / perceived threat / Perceptions / Politics / Prejudice / Prejudices / Propensity / Radical right parties / radical right voting / Radicalism / Respondents / Right wing politics / Social contact / Social psychology / Stigma / stigmatized immigrants / Threats / Unemployment rates / Voting / Voting behavior / Voting behaviour / Voting precincts / Voting rights