Immigration and the radical right in Switzerland: ideology, discourse and opportunities

Skenderovic, Damir

doi:10.1080/00313220701265528

Cited by 57 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…Previous research has revealed that these attitudes are linked to radical right voting in general and SVP voting in particular (Coffé, 2005;Ivarsflaten, 2008;Lubbers et al, 2002;Nicolet and Sciarini, 2006;Oesch, 2008;Skenderovic, 2007). This may be related to the ideological discourse of the SVP, which is very much focused on opposition to immigration and the European Union.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Young people, parents and radical right voting. The Case of the Swiss People’s Party

Coffé

Voorpostel

2010

Electoral Studies

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a b s t r a c tIt is commonly found that young people tend to adopt the political party choice of their parents. However, far less is known about the applicability of this theory when investigating radical right support. Using the Swiss Household panel data (1999e2007), this study empirically identifies the relationship between parents' preference for the Swiss radical right party SVP and their attitudes toward immigrants and the EU, and their offspring's preference for the SVP. Disaggregating fathers' and mothers' influence reveals that in particular, mothers' SVP support plays a role in SVP support among young people, even after controlling for educational similarities. We also demonstrate that girls are more likely to be influenced by their mothers than are boys. Furthermore, parents' negative attitudes toward the EU exert a positive influence on their children's radical right voting, independent of their voting pattern.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Young people, parents and radical right voting. The Case of the Swiss People’s Party

Coffé

Voorpostel

2010

Electoral Studies

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“…Similarly, the Progress Parties (FrP) in Denmark and Norway are not counted as far-right parties until the 1987 and 1989 elections, respectively (Sva˚sand, 1998;Andersen and Bjørklund, 2002). And the Swiss People's Party (SVP) is not considered a far-right party before the 1995 election (McGann and Kitschelt, 2005;Skenderovic, 2007). These transitions correspond in all cases to the adoption by these parties of an anti-immigration agenda that they had not previously promoted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Scapegoating: Unemployment, far-right parties and anti-immigrant sentiment

Cochrane

Nevitte

2012

Comp Eur Polit

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Far-right parties blame immigrants for unemployment. We test the effects of the unemployment rate on public receptivity to this rhetoric. The dependent variable is anti-immigrant sentiment. The key independent variables are the presence of a far-right party and the level of unemployment. Building from influential elite-centered theories of public opinion, the central hypothesis is that a high unemployment rate predisposes citizens to accept the anti-immigrant rhetoric of far-right parties, and a low unemployment rate predisposes citizens to reject this rhetoric. The findings from cross-sectional, cross-time and cross-level analyses are consistent with this hypothesis. It is neither the unemployment rate nor the presence of a far-right party that appears to drive anti-immigrant sentiment; rather, it is the interaction between the two.

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“…As immigration laws have changed, discourses comparable to those at work during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s now stigmatise migrants from the wave of immigration, who are perceived to have migrated from culturally distant countries (east and south-east European, African and middle-Eastern regions). Skenderovic's (1998Skenderovic's ( , 2003Skenderovic's ( , 2007Skenderovic's ( , 2009) research examines this phenomenon through analyses of Swiss radical right political parties. He argues that immigration serves as these parties' primary focus, mirroring their exclusionist world-views in which nationalism, neo-racism and xenophobia feature prominently.…”

Section: How Do Culturalist Discourses Affect the Immigrant Population?mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…During the First World War, this development intensified. Politicians used the country's vulnerability to promote anti-immigrant policies and a national identity based on tradition and common values (Skenderovic 2003(Skenderovic , 2007. Within political rhetoric, immigrants were portrayed as culturally different and transmitters of dangerous "non-Swiss" values and morals.…”

Section: Immigration Dispositive In Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To counter the perceived risks posed by immigrants, politicians called for a halt to immigration. The term used to capture these sentiments was "Überfremdungsangst" 1 (fear of over-foreignisation), and while the term is used relatively rarely today, xenophobia still has political and social currency (Skenderovic 2003(Skenderovic , 2007.…”

Section: Immigration Dispositive In Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Second Generation Immigrant Girls’ Negotiations of Cultural Proximity in Switzerland: A Foucauldian Reading

Barker-Ruchti

Barker

Sattler

et al. 2014

Int. Migration & Integration

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Although overtly racist political discourse in Switzerland has receded, culturalist discourses continue to construct ideal immigrants. Policies define immigrants in terms of "cultural proximity" and contain an implicit distinction between "distant" and "proximal" foreigners. Culturally, distant immigrants have been stereotyped as aggressive and/or lacking interest in education and professional success and while scholars have examined immigrants from Switzerland's "culturally-near" regions, the experiences of second generation immigrant populations from perceived culturally distant countries have largely escaped attention. Knowledge about girls and women is particularly scarce. Against this backdrop, this paper provides an examination of how six teenage girls living in a German-speaking Swiss city negotiate their perceived cultural distance. By combining interview material with elements of Foucauldian theory, the paper provides insight into (1) the diasporic experiences of girls with second generation immigration backgrounds and (2) the operation and influence of culturalist discourses. Foucault's notion of dispositive-the discourses, institutions, laws, and scientific findings that, through various means of distribution (e.g., media texts, policies, education curricula), act as an apparatus that constructs and supports normative ideals-provides a generative analytic tool for this task. The analysis suggests that the ways girls learn to understand their social worlds is a collective process of discipline that places mechanisms of social control within each individual. This process involves the homogenisation and marginalisation of the immigrant population and is circular in nature in that the girls strengthen and maintain the power of existing culturalist knowledge that works negatively on them. The paper concludes with a consideration of how this situation might be challenged.

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Immigration and the radical right in Switzerland: ideology, discourse and opportunities

Cited by 57 publications

References 2 publications

Young people, parents and radical right voting. The Case of the Swiss People’s Party

Young people, parents and radical right voting. The Case of the Swiss People’s Party

Scapegoating: Unemployment, far-right parties and anti-immigrant sentiment

Second Generation Immigrant Girls’ Negotiations of Cultural Proximity in Switzerland: A Foucauldian Reading

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