PhD Defence: Walking the tightrope of humanitarian concerns and perceived threats: Essays on attitudes toward refugee immigration in Germany

From “Wir schaffen das” in 2015 to renewed calls for tougher asylum rules in the 2020s, Germany has seen substantial swings in public attitudes toward refugee immigration. Against the backdrop of a highly divisive European debate, this dissertation examines what shapes public perceptions – and how these perceptions translate into preferences for asylum and refugee policy. It draws on large-scale online survey experiments conducted in Germany in 2023 and 2024, a period marked by renewed inflows and heightened political contestation. The first empirical chapter studies the effects of viewing an ostensibly “neutral” video that provides basic background information on Syrian refugees. Even this innocent-looking form of communication can shift attitudes in a more restrictive direction, with effects varying across spatial divides. The second chapter develops and tests a framework centered on humanitarian considerations. It shows, for example, the potential of humanitarian messaging to raise concern for refugees and willingness to support refugees abroad, but also its limits when it comes to admission preferences. The final empirical chapter investigates the drivers of the recent backlash against asylum immigration and finds that dissatisfaction is rooted primarily in opposition to irregular border crossings, rather than a principled rejection of refugee protection. It also reveals that a remarkable openness to legal and orderly pathways prevails. Overall, this dissertation shows how communication and policy design shape public acceptance of and opposition to refugee immigration – and uncovers nuances often missed in an overheated public debate.