Why attitude ambivalence explains tepid support for pro-immigration policies

Victoria Donnaloja uncovers why support for liberal immigration policies remains tepid, despite seemingly positive attitudes toward immigrants.

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Syrian refugees. Image via Flickr (Public domain)

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Why attitude ambivalence explains tepid support for pro-immigration policies

19 Mar 2025, 13:00 – 14:00

Room G03
55-59 Gordon Square
London
WC1H 0NU
United Kingdom

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Despite trends towards more positive attitudes toward immigrants and immigration (ATII), support for liberal immigration policy remains low in the West.

Victoria's research indicates that ATII alone are ill-equipped to explain differences in support for pro-immigration policy because immigration policy involves competing interests, namely the national interest as well as the interests of immigrants.

She hypothesises that:

individuals who care about the interests of immigrants experience ambivalence when evaluating liberal immigration policies
and this ambivalence dampens support for such policies.

This event will be particularly useful for researchers, policymakers, academics and students.

Image

Freedom House via Flickr (Public domain).

Victoria Donnaloja

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Essex University

Most recently, she has contributed new evidence on public attitudes on territorial birthright citizenship reform for Italy.

In her new Leverhulme funded project, she will turn to attitudes of inclusion to understand why they change from one generation to the next. She will focus on if and how education drives these generational shifts.