Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

Ethnicity – the idea of belonging to a group of people who share common cultural traits, such as language, religion, customs, history, or origins – is a key concept for this research (Csámpai Reference Csámpai1999; Walter Reference Walter2007). Ethnicity can influence individuals’ and groups’ behaviour, identity and opinions and can play a significant role in shaping how people relate to their own community and to other communities. On the basis of existing research, we believe that ethnicity – encompassing shared prejudices and stereotypes, historical and political experience, cultural values and religion – can influence peoples’ attitudes towards (im)migrants.

Preference for ethnic similarity – or ethnocentricity – is evident in the fact that attitudes to migrants who are culturally and ethnically similar tend to be more positive (Ford Reference Ford2011). Conversely, attitudes towards migrants from very different cultural or ethnic backgrounds tend to be more negative. This preference is associated with fears that newcomers might threaten the cultural values, customs or social fabric of the local community. Esses et al. (Reference Esses, Dovidio, Jackson and Armstrong2001) examine how perceived cultural similarities and differences influence attitudes towards immigrants, arguing that people tend to be more accepting of immigrants who are culturally closer to them. Similarly, Ford (Reference Ford2011: 1019) summarizes several studies that have found that ‘preference for cultural unity is the strongest predictor of hostility to immigration in a wide range of European societies’. Likewise, Berry (Reference Berry1997) examines how differences in cultural values impact the migrant adaptation process and illustrates how cultural differences can lead to rejection of newcomers.

Ethnocentric attitudes towards social identification (the ‘we’ versus ‘them’ mentality) also manifest themselves as discomfort with the idea of migrants from different ethnic groups joining an existing community (Melucci Reference Melucci1989; Melucci et al. Reference Melucci, Keane and Mier1989; Stets and Burke Reference Stets and Burke2000; Tajfel and Turner Reference Tajfel, Turner, Worchel and Austin1986).

Moreover, ethnicity is strongly associated with prejudices and stereotypes. If certain ethnic groups are perceived negatively or have negative stereotypes associated with them, people may be unwilling to accept migrants from these groups. Pettigrew and Tropp (Reference Pettigrew and Tropp2006) show that prejudices and negative stereotypes against ethnic groups can be reduced through positive intergroup contact.

Relationships between different ethnic groups are shaped by historical events; historical hostility and past political tensions between ethnic groups can affect how those groups interact and, in turn, influence attitudes to migration between them. Schneider (Reference Schneider2007), for example, shows how historical conflicts and political tensions between ethnic groups continue to influence attitudes towards (im)migration in European countries.

Public attitudes towards refugees may be hospitable (see Alrawadieh et al. Reference Alrawadieh, Altinay, Urbančíková and Hudec2024), hostile (see Betz and Meret Reference Betz, Meret and Rydgren2013; Davidov et al. Reference Davidov, Meuleman, Billiet and Schmidt2008; Schneider Reference Schneider2007), or neutral (see Heath et al. Reference Heath, Schmidt, Green, Ramos, Davidov and Ford2014). We will explore the role of hospitableness (Alrawadieh et al. Reference Alrawadieh, Altinay, Urbančíková and Hudec2024) in relation to refugees of different ethnicities in the Czech Republic. In their study, Alrawadieh et al. (Reference Alrawadieh, Altinay, Urbančíková and Hudec2024) show that hospitableness has an important role in fostering pro-social attitudes and behaviours towards refugees.

Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism that is defined on the basis of ethnicity. We look at this from the perspective of historical institutionalism (David Reference David2007; Mahoney and Thelen Reference Mahoney and Thelen2010; North Reference North1990; Plaček et al. Reference Plaček, Vaceková, Valentinov and Ochrana2024; Schmidt Reference Schmidt2008, Reference Schmidt2010), which is further elaborated in detail in studies by Jelínková et al. (Reference Jelínková, Plaček and Ochrana2024); and Ochrana (Reference Ochrana2022). The concept of historical institutionalism makes it possible to reveal the historical-social conditions under which ethnic nationalism emerged and developed, and how ethnic nationalism depends on these conditions (the influence of path dependence), helping us to understand how it arose.

We also refer to the theory of social identity (Lee Reference Lee2023; McPherson et al. Reference McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Cook2001; Melucci Reference Melucci1989) in order to explain why ethnocentric ‘us’ versus ‘them’ divisions arise in society (Sapolsky Reference Sapolsky2017), where ‘us’ refers to actors in the ethnic nation, and ‘them’ to ethnically-different migrants towards which the ‘us’ group is hostile. The members of the ‘they’ group, who may be ethnically and otherwise diverse, are seen as a homogeneous group that the ‘us’ group perceives as different – in ethnicity, race, culture, religion – from themselves. Social identity, i.e. an individual’s awareness of belonging to a particular social group, significantly influences individual behaviour (Davis and Moore Reference Davis and Moore2014). Social groups with shared values are inherently resistant to external threat and will mobilize to preserve the group’s identity and homogeneity (Iosifides et al. Reference Iosifides, Lavrentiadou, Petracou and Kontis2007; Lee Reference Lee2023; Stolle et al. Reference Stolle, Soroka and Johnston2008; Lee and Moon Reference Lee and Moon2011; Putnam Reference Putnam2000). Immigration is one possible source of such an external threat to group identity, with the potential to disrupt a group’s values and culture. Hence, social identity theory suggests that existing social groups will naturally be reluctant to accept migrants whom they perceive as not sharing their group identity.

Research Methods and Sources of Information

Our research for this study consists of a combination of desk research, textual analysis, retrograde analysis, secondary empirical analysis on public attitudes towards refugees in the Czech Republic, and interviews with experts. We use some similar methods to those employed by Stemler (Reference Stemler2001) and Ochrana (Reference Ochrana2022) for related research.

We begin with a textual analysis of historical documents and studies on the concept of ethnic nationalism. We then employ retrograde analysis to examine how ethnic nationalism developed in the Czech lands, from its emergence during the Czech National Revival (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) to the present day. Secondary analysis of empirical surveys examining public attitudes to refugees, conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre (2015–2024), enables us to quantify those attitudes and observe trends over time and between different groups. By carrying out structured interviews with experts, we are able to describe the associations between ethnic nationalism and current attitudes towards the reception of refugees (see Table 1).

Table 1.

List of experts.

The questions used in the in-depth, semi-structured interviews were formulated following our textual analysis of historical documents and publications concerning the origin, development and historical transformations of ethnicity and ethnic nationalism in the Czech lands (i.e. the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic).

We selected interview participants through purposive sampling to ensure relevance and expertise. In total, we approached 18 academic, governmental and independent experts. Since our topic of investigation is politically and ideologically sensitive, some of the experts we invited to interview did not respond to our invitations, and some refused to participate in these interviews for fear of possible professional repercussions, even though we guaranteed that their participation would be anonymous. In total, seven experts consented to participate in interviews (see Table 1). Some of them asked for a higher degree of anonymity, and for this reason their age and gender are not specified. We respected all such requests.

The interviews were conducted in December 2023 and January 2024, primarily online via Google Meet, and for Expert G, part in person and part by phone. At the beginning of each interview, we presented the results of our analysis of the history of ethnic nationalism in Czech lands to the expert.

We then asked the experts the following two questions:

1. (1) What is your opinion on the historical sources relating to ethnic nationalism in the Czech Republic that we have presented?

2. (2) Empirical research conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre suggests that the Czech public has diametrically different attitudes towards refugees from countries with predominantly Muslim populations and towards those from Ukraine. What is your opinion on this?

The interviews were transcribed and then coded using both deductive and inductive approaches. This made it possible to identify key themes relevant to our research question and identify new, emerging topics.

To address the risk of social desirability bias or other individual biases affecting the analysis of the interview material, the interpretation of the data was always discussed collectively within the research team. By engaging in these discussions, we were able to critically evaluate and challenge each other’s interpretations, reaching more balanced and objective conclusions.

Immigration in the Czech Lands

Immigration did not become a political and public issue in the Czech Republic until the twenty-first century. Although the break-up of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia brought members of foreign mafias (Russian, Ukrainian, Albanian) to the Czech Republic in the 1990s, this was not perceived as a migration issue. It was not until the first decade of the twenty-first century that extremist political parties (in particular the Workers’ Social Justice Party) began addressing this issue.

The outbreak of war in Iraq (2003) and later in Syria (2011) increased public interest in the issue of migration; in the years following 2011, as the numbers of migrants from countries with predominantly Muslim populations increased in Western and Southern Europe, this became a key topic in public discourse.

As we have seen, the Czech public was opposed to accepting refugees from countries with predominantly Muslim populations (see Figure 2). On the other hand, since 2022 it has willingly accepted Ukrainian refugees (see Figure 3). According to experts, ethnic nationalism and identity theory may be among the factors that explain the attitudes of contemporary Czech society towards accepting migrants with different ethnic backgrounds.

Expert D believes that ethnicity plays a role in the Czech population’s willingness to accept migrants,

He/she suggests that some groups within the Czech population cannot distinguish between Islamic culture in general and militant Islam, because they do not have enough information about or direct personal experience with Islamic cultures. They consider that all people from primarily Muslim states must match the limited information they have about a few such people, which leads them to the logically erroneous conclusion (see Popper Reference Popper1994) that Islamic culture as a whole is hostile to European culture. Since ‘they’ (refugees from countries with predominantly Muslim populations) are different from ‘us’ (Czechs), ‘we must necessarily have well-founded fears about Islam’ (Expert D).

Expert F compares public attitudes to refugees in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He is not surprised that these attitudes are almost identical in both countries, since he considers that these attitudes stem from the countries’ common history and their historic ethnic and cultural proximity. Expert G points out that it is necessary to distinguish between Islamic culture in general and radical Islamism and that the Czech attitudes to each are different.

According to Expert C and Expert E, positive attitudes towards migrants from Ukraine are not only due to these migrants being of ‘the same ethnicity’ but also due to other characteristics of these immigrants and their goals. They point out that Ukrainians have been living in the Czech Republic since the 1990s and are known to be very hardworking. They also mention the problematic influence of the Ukrainian mafia. National stereotypes of different migrant groups therefore play an important role; these may be particularly important in the perception of refugees from countries with a predominantly Muslim population.

Expert E comments: ‘And that’s the problem, that some people aren’t sure if such people will come to us’ (Expert E). According to expert E, this can give rise to a twofold ethnic view among part of the public: European refugees in general, and refugees from Africa and Asia. One time the public sees them as ‘we’, the other time as ‘them’. The opinions of experts on the reception of war migrants are in line with our theoretical concept of social identity.