Trust Beyond Borders: The Role of Non-State Actors in Shaping Immigration Preferences
Evidence for high-income countries suggests that greater political trust, defined as confidence in state actors, leads to more openness toward receiving immigrants. We argue that in contexts of weak state governance, trust in non-state actors, such as civil society or international organizations, is also relevant. To test this, we conduct three identical face-to-face surveys, each including a conjoint experiment, in three border locations experiencing large inflows of Venezuelan immigrants: Boa Vista (Brazil), Cúcuta (Colombia), and San Fernando (Trinidad and Tobago). Results indicate that higher levels of trust in international organizations decrease favorability for community profiles with a closed-door immigration approach. The findings suggest a nuanced conceptualization of trust accounting for non-state actors helps understand public attitudes toward immigration; analyses need tailoring to local contexts to capture the role of non-state actors; and in regions with weak state governance, international organizations may act as trusted intermediaries to enhance openness to immigration.
The seminar will take place on Zoom, please click on this link to join. You can find the previous Migration Seminars in this YouTube playlist.
For further information, please contact Soha Youssef (convenor of the Migration Seminar series, on behalf of UNU-MERIT & MACIMIDE): youssef@merit.unu.edu