Re-examining Socialization Theory: How Does Democracy Influence the Impact of Education on Anti-Foreigner Sentiment?

Socialization theory claims that the ability of education to reduce anti-foreigner sentiment varies cross-nationally because state authorities are not equally committed to accepting ethnic minorities: higher educated persons harbor less anti-foreigner sentiment because they spend longer in education...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBritish journal of political science Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 915 - 938
Main Authors Frølund Thomsen, Jens Peter, Olsen, Mark
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2017
Subjects
Ability
Antisemitism
Attitudes
Corporate sponsorship
Democracy
Education
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Higher education
Influence
Institutions
Maturation
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Noncitizens
Political science
Political systems
Politicians
Politics
Prejudice
Public opinion surveys
Self interest
Social control
Socialization
Society
Sociology
Students
Studies
Theory
Values
Eastern Europe
Southern Europe
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Summary:Socialization theory claims that the ability of education to reduce anti-foreigner sentiment varies cross-nationally because state authorities are not equally committed to accepting ethnic minorities: higher educated persons harbor less anti-foreigner sentiment because they spend longer in educational institutions that impose official democratic values, which forbid negative reactions toward ethnic minorities. Consequently, higher educated persons ought to diverge from the lower educated as democratic institutions progress. Analyses support these claims: the impact of education on reducing anti-foreigner sentiment is strongest in the oldest democracies, moderate among the medium-aged (e.g., South European) democracies and weakest among the youngest (East European) democracies; and higher educated persons are disproportionately influenced by the maturation of democratic institutions. Analyses utilize data from the 28-country 2008 European Social Survey.
ISSN:0007-1234
1469-2112
DOI:10.1017/S0007123415000496