The effect of anti-immigration on politics: Anglosaxon countries-Continental Europe comparison

Migration remains a controversial issue in contemporary societies, continuing to shape the global political agenda. This research conducts a comparative analysis of the effects of anti-immigrant sentiments and policies on both Anglo-Saxon and Continental European contexts, providing a comparative examination of practices in these two traditions. In doing so, the research aims to shed light on the causes, consequences, similarities and differences of the anti-immigrant movements in these two traditions by going down to the political, social and economic dimensions of migration. The research draws on an extensive scholarly literature review to analyze the impact of anti-immigrant narratives on public opinion, political discourse, and policy-making, with particular emphasis on the rise of populist far-right parties and their role in fanning anti-immigrant sentiments. Moreover, the study delves into the impact of neoliberalism, globalization, migration, and inequalities on contemporary migration crises and xenophobia. Empirically, the research employs data from the World Values Survey (WVS), European Values Study (EVS), and Global Party Survey (GPS) to determine the impact of anti-immigrant sentiment on politics. The research has identified key agitation factors that have contributed to the growth of anti-immigrant movements, including economic grievances, cultural concerns, security concerns, and perceptions of racial threats. In addition, the role of media and political rhetoric as agitation tools in shaping public opinion and perpetuating anti-immigrant narratives was emphasized. The results confirm the influence of neoliberal globalization on migration crises. The study reveals that media and the far right play a role in scapegoating immigrants, attributing inequalities and concerns created by the neoliberal order to them. It is also observed that, unlike Anglo-Saxon countries, anti-immigrant parties have not become mainstream in Continental European countries due to the presence of the welfare state concept. However, these parties have influenced mainstream politics and their populist rhetoric has been adopted. The results also showed that agitation factors such as economic grievance, security concern, cultural reaction and racial threat perception were effective in creating anti-immigrant opposition through agitation tools such as far-right parties and the media, thus increasing support for far-right parties. In doing so, the research elucidates the dynamics of hostile attitudes towards immigrants and proposes recommendations for mitigating such perspectives.