“Not one of us”: anti-immigrant sentiment spread to multiple immigrant groups in the wake of Islamic terrorism

Abstract

In reaction to terrorism, current research shows that discriminatory attitudes against immigrant populations among native populations sometimes increase. However, it is unclear if native populations respond to threats with a specifically targeted anti-immigrant sentiment or whether there is a general increase in anti-immigrant views that spill over to other minority groups. Furthermore, plausible processes explaining the spread of anti-immigration sentiment to larger immigrant populations are largely underexplored in the research. This article analyzes the impact of terrorist attacks on anti-Muslim sentiment and spillover effects on groups seemingly unrelated to the attacks. Using the coincidental timing of the European Social Survey and the attack on Charlie Hebdo, we investigate the effects of terrorism on anti-immigrant attitudes toward Muslim, Jewish, and Roma minorities. Second, in accordance with symbolic boundary theory, we investigate whether the Charlie Hebdo attack increased discriminatory attitudes toward immigrant characteristics and argue that these spillover effects are partially attributable to such changes. Our findings show that the Charlie Hebdo attack was associated with increased anti-immigrant sentiment toward all three groups to a comparable degree and that these effects are partially explained by intensified racial and religious boundaries. Furthermore, we find that the association between the attack and increases in racial and religious boundaries, as well as discriminatory attitudes toward all studied minorities, is stronger in countries with historically low immigration reception. Our study finds that where discriminatory processes are activated, they are not manifested through precise social categorization but rather using generalized minority characteristics.