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A Populist Paradox? How Brexit Softened Anti-Immigrant Attitudes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2020

Cassilde Schwartz Open the ORCID record for Cassilde Schwartz [Opens in a new window] ,
Miranda Simon Open the ORCID record for Miranda Simon [Opens in a new window] ,
David Hudson Open the ORCID record for David Hudson [Opens in a new window]  and
Jennifer van-Heerde-Hudson
Cassilde Schwartz*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London
Miranda Simon
Affiliation:
Department of Government, University of Essex
David Hudson
Affiliation:
International Development Department, University of Birmingham
Jennifer van-Heerde-Hudson
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University College London
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: Cassilde.Schwartz@rhul.ac.uk
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Abstract

Recent political contests across Europe and North America have been propelled by a wave of populist, anti-immigrant resentment, and it was widely expected that these populist victories would further fan the flames of xenophobia. This article reports the results of an experiment around the Brexit referendum, designed to test how populist victories shape anti-immigrant attitudes. The study finds that anti-immigrant attitudes actually softened after the Brexit referendum, among both Leave and Remain supporters, and these effects persisted for several months. How could a right-wing, populist victory soften anti-immigrant attitudes? The authors use causal mediation analysis to understand this ‘populist paradox’. Among Leavers, a greater sense of control over immigration channelled the effects of the Brexit outcome onto anti-immigrant attitudes. Individuals' efforts to distance themselves from accusations of xenophobia and racism explains the softening of attitudes towards immigration observed among both Leavers and Remainers.

Keywords

Brexitpublic opinionimmigration
Type
Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , July 2021 , pp. 1160 - 1180
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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