Sources of anti-immigrant sentiments in Western democracies: A contextual approach

The electoral success of nativist parties in several Western democracies in the last decade surprised many political operators and academics alike, in part due to an insufficient understanding of the confluence of triggers of anti-immigrant sentiments. The extent of knowledge has since improved with notable strides made at the intersection of multiple sources of intolerant attitudes, such as between realistic and symbolic threat, threat perception and belief systems, individual-level and group-level characteristics, and biological and cultural determinants. By contextualizing the literature in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, we highlight region specificity as another consideration for future research. An appreciation for the complex sources of anti-immigrant sentiments should bring a new level of sophistication to diversity management strategies.