Policy-making on immigration and asylum is often motivated by prevailing public attitudes. At the same time, public opinion can be shaped by how political actors frame the issues and challenges at hand. Since the onset of the ‘refugee crisis’ in 2014, irregular migration has been of particular concern to people across the EU and has remained high on the political agenda. In many EU member states, negative sentiment among some social groups is perceived to be on the rise, thus motivating the adoption of restrictive policies. Have European citizens really become less accepting of immigration over the past few years? Or is it that the perceptions of policy-makers have changed? How have policy-makers’ perceptions and public opinion interacted to produce particular policy outcomes, and what lessons can we draw?
The policy dialogue, organised jointly by MEDAM and the Dahrendorf Forum, brings together European researchers and policy-makers for an exchange of research results and policy ideas on issues related to public and political perceptions of immigration.
Please click here for the full agenda
Presentations:
Esther Ademmer and Tobias Stöhr / MEDAM, IfW, Kiel / “Public attitudes and the refugee crisis: evidence from survey and social media data” view
Lenka Drazanova / OPAM, EUI, Florence / “Europe divided? Attitudes to immigration ahead of the 2019 European elections” view
Josefin Graef / Dahrendorf Forum, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin / “Responding to Populist Narratives of Migration” view