East vs West? Public Attitudes in Migration and Integration Policymaking in Europe
This Policy Dialogue marks the publication of a new policy paper by Lenka Dražanová, MIDEM Visiting Fellow 2025 and Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute’s Migration Policy Centre, which examines the extent to which common explanations of public attitudes towards immigration, largely developed in Western European contexts, can be generalised across Europe. Amid heightened […]
More educated, more pro-immigration?
Education is often seen as a key to fostering inclusive attitudes toward immigration and strengthening social cohesion in diverse societies. But can education alone deliver on this promise? In this talk, Lenka Dražanová will present a new policy paper that critically examines this assumption. Drawing on 20 years of data from the European Social Survey […]
In Our Interest: How Democracies Can Make Immigration Popular
Alexander Kustov will present his newly published book, in which he argues that showing people how immigration benefits them and their fellow citizens can lead to greater acceptance of open policies. Looking beyond the stereotype of xenophobic voters, he identifies people’s genuine concern for compatriots as a key driver of immigration attitudes. Using extensive cross-national surveys and experiments, this book demonstrates voters tend to oppose freer immigration because they believe it threatens their countries, but can be persuaded if they see immigration policies as in their interest.
