ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explore the extent to which public opinion about migration in European countries has changed over the last 12 years: from 2002, the year after the terrorist attacks in New York, up to and including 2015, on the eve of the refugee and terrorism crisis in Europe. Since the 1990s, attention has also been devoted to the ‘cultural threat’ posed by migrants. Resistance by the native population to migration is then interpreted from the premise that they see on a day-to-day basis that migrants have different customs, or tend to have different views and ideas. The sharp rise in the number of refugees seeking to enter Europe in 2015, and before Europe was hit by the terrorist attacks in Paris, the readers observe clear trends in opinions on migration and migrants. In most countries, the belief that the government should be generous in treating asylum-seekers also strengthened between 2002/’03 and 2014/’15.
