A new manuscript has just appeared in Comparative Political Studies (co-authored with Romana Careja, University of Cologne). It analyzes the effects of migration experience on political attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe. Here is the abstract:
Making Democratic Citizens: The Effects of Migration Experience on Political Attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe
This article examines the effects of migration experience on political attitudes in Central and Eastern European countries.The rationale for this quest is the hypothesis that contact with democratic contexts translates into democratic political attitudes, for which evidence is so far inconclusive. In this article, we are interested to see whether migrants returning from Western countries display different political attitudes than their fellow nonmigrant citizens.The analysis of survey data shows that migration experience diversifies the array of political attitudes: Although migrants are more likely to trust EU institu- tions and to try to convince friends in political discussions, they do not differ from nonmigrants in their attitudes toward domestic institutions. Based on earlier works on determinants of political attitudes, the authors argue that migration experience has a significant effect only when these attitudes are related to objects that are associated with improvements in the migrants’ material and cognitive status.
For the full article, please go to the website of Comparative Political Studies.
Patrick Emmenegger 