Shots, sympathy, and societal support: How conflict intensity translates into cooperative behaviour towards the displaced

Severe shocks, such as natural disasters or major conflicts, can trigger substantial international support in the immediate aftermath. The continuation of support depends on the level of attention in the public discourse. Whereas general attention will inevitably decline with time, a resurgence of fighting could rekindle societal support abroad. Based on daily news coverage relating to 39 European countries, the emergence of such an offsetting effect is evaluated by introducing the concept of conflict pressure to quantify indirect conflict exposure. Societies not directly involved in a major conflict are found to respond to conflict escalation nevertheless: Across all stakeholder groups, attention dedicated to refugees increases temporarily, irrespective of actual support requirements. Providing additional material support to displaced individuals for a prolonged time, in turn, is mostly within the purview of governmental actors and, surprisingly, those from the economy.