The Outcry of the Periphery? An Analysis of Ticino's No to Immigration

Abstract

When the popular initiative “against mass immigration” was accepted by the Swiss people and cantons on 9 February 2014, Ticino had by far the highest approval rate. The Italian‐speaking canton thus once more confirmed its singular position, assumed since the 1990s, on popular votes regarding immigration and foreign policy. This seems to be indicative of wider crises and changes in both the economic and political spheres that have favoured the emergence of a political opposition between centre and periphery. The results of a survey among 1400 citizens of Ticino after the vote of 9 February confirm this. In essence, on top of the question of immigration, the vote was influenced by a fearful perception of Ticino as a “double periphery” vis‐à‐vis both Berne and Lombardy.

Intergroup contact moderates the influence of social norms on prejudice

“…Unless otherwise stated, the procedure was the same as in Study 3. Study 4 was conducted in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton, which historically has been characterized by stronger anti-immigration views compared to French-speaking Switzerland (e.g., Mazzoleni & Pilotti, 2015). Participants were high school students, who filled out the questionnaire during classes.…”

The interplay between social dominance orientation and intergroup contact in explaining support for multiculturalism

“…Both areas are also characterized by high proportions of frontier workers, that is, people living in the neighboring countries (France and Italy, respectively) and commuting daily to Switzerland to work. Attitudes toward ethnic minorities and immigration are however more tolerant in the Frenchspeaking cantons than in Ticino (e.g., Mazzoleni & Pilotti, 2015).…”

Same but Different: Muslims and Foreigners in Public Media Discourse

“…In the previous number of the symposium, Freitag, Vatter and Mueller (:2) claim that the referendum campaign on the expulsion of criminal foreigners in 2010 was characterized by a “[…] peak of prejudice and stereotyping as regards Muslim immigrants from the former Yugoslavia, the Balkan states, or other non‐Western European states”. While the other contributions to this symposium focus on individual attitudes and voting behavior (Ackermann and Freitag , Manatschal , Mazzoleni and Pilotti , Milic , Sciarini, Lanz and Nai ) and public policy (Ambühl and Zürcher , Ruedin, Alberti and D'Amato ), the aim of this contribution is to highlight the importance of public discourse and perceptions. It is crucial to increase our knowledge of the dynamics in the public discourse on immigration, as well as on the causes and impacts of the shift in perception of Muslims and the increasing interest for this minority.…”