Article,
Do numbers really count? Group threat theory revisited
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33 (8): 1253-1275 (2007)
DOI: {10.1080/13691830701614056}
Abstract
A specific case of group threat theory states that the size of a given
minority has a direct bearing on anti-immigrant attitudes amongst the
majority, a hypothesis that has been shown to have some merit,
especially in the USA. This article embarks on group threat theory by
focusing on the actual as well as the perceived size of a minority
under different political circumstances. Data are drawn from the
European Social Survey. After using multilevel analysis for 20 European
countries, the paper concludes that neither actual nor perceived size
matter for anti-immigrant attitudes in Europe. Nor does size have any
effect under different economic or political contexts. This challenges
both the theoretical foundation of this specific case of group threat
as well as the European political discourse that claims that
immigration needs to be reduced in order to lessen tension and, in the
long run, preserve a stable democracy.
