Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Political Science & Geography

Program/Concentration

Graduate Program in International Studies

Committee Director

Jesse T. Richman

Committee Member

Peter Schulman

Committee Member

Steven L. Gordon

Abstract

Estimates of the global migrant population have steadily increased, with current data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting approximately 281 million migrants worldwide. Alongside this growth, anti-immigrant sentiments have risen in many host countries. This study seeks to contribute to the research on attitudes toward immigrants by exploring climate-related factors, particularly drought, as a key influence.

Leveraging a unique dataset combining the World Values Survey (WVS) and Afrobarometer, the study examines how drought, along with individual and contextual factors, affects attitudes toward immigrants. This dataset allows for an in-depth analysis of the direct impact of drought on public opinion regarding immigration while controlling for various demographic, social, and economic factors that have been identified in the literature as shaping these attitudes. To ensure the robustness of the findings, the study conducts additional analysis using data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). The study accounts for provincial and year-fixed effects in both datasets, enabling an examination of how temporal and regional factors may shape perceptions of immigrants.

The findings reveal a clear relationship between drought conditions and negative attitudes toward immigrants, suggesting that environmental stressors like drought exacerbate host country populations’ hostility toward migrants. The study also investigates the role of crime victimization in shaping these attitudes. While personal experiences of crime do not significantly influence public opinion, the belief that immigrants are responsible for high crime rates plays a substantial role in fostering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Further analysis of demographic and socio-economic factors shows that individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to welcome immigrants. However, the impact of employment status, gender, and age varies across datasets, highlighting the complexity of factors influencing attitudes.

In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of considering climate-related events, such as droughts, as significant factors in shaping attitudes toward immigrants, while also emphasizing the ongoing role of socio-economic variables in influencing public perceptions of migration.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/a5j4-at33

ISBN

9798280749160

ORCID

0000-0002-9088-7236

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