Welfare chauvinism in Europe: The opposition towards social benefits and services for migrants

The redistribution of welfare resources to migrants continues to polarise societies, including the UK. Not only politicians from the radical right but also from more mainstream parties are capitalising on the idea of ‘welfare for our kind’, or welfare chauvinism. In her new book “Welfare Chauvinism in Europe”, Gianna creates an extensive overview of welfare chauvinism’s causes and consequences. In particular, the book sheds light on the multidimensionality of the opposition towards welfare for migrants across countries, time, social policies, and migrant groups. Hereby, Gianna exposes hidden nuances regarding welfare chauvinism that are frequently overlooked in current discourse. Using high-quality data on public attitudes and macro-level conditions, her new book also investigates the common misperception that higher levels of education universally lead to more tolerant attitudes and she argues that governments and welfare institutions play a crucial role in shaping public opinion.