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A Populist Paradox? How Brexit Softened Anti-Immigrant Attitudes

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  • Schwartz, Cassilde
  • Simon, Miranda
  • Hudson, David
  • van-Heerde-Hudson, Jennifer

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Schwartz, Cassilde & Simon, Miranda & Hudson, David & van-Heerde-Hudson, Jennifer, 2021. "A Populist Paradox? How Brexit Softened Anti-Immigrant Attitudes," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 1160-1180, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:51:y:2021:i:3:p:1160-1180_14
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    Cited by:

    1. Perroni, Carlo & Scharf, Kimberley & Smith, Sarah & Talavera, Oleksandr & Vi, Linh, 2024. "Local Crime and Prosocial Attitudes: Evidence from Charitable Donations," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 706, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Roşu, Maria-Magdalena & Fiscutean, Andrada & Paun, Mihaela, 2024. "The press and government, influencers of citizens’ political opinions: A quasi-experiment on Brexit," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 272-288.
    3. Mark Pickup & Eline A. de Rooij & Clifton van der Linden & Matthew J. Goodwin, 2021. "Brexit, COVID‐19, and attitudes toward immigration in Britain," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(5), pages 2184-2193, September.
    4. Stephen Drinkwater & Colin Jennings, 2022. "The Brexit referendum and three types of regret," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 275-291, December.

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