anti-immigrant voting from “above” are the presence of a left-wing government and the lack of a ‘hard’ right
mainstream alternative. A dummy variable is used to indicate the presence of a left-wing government at the time
of each of the Eurobarometer surveys.
Perceived “softness” of the mainstream right is calculated from voters’
mean left-right placement scores of their major right-wing parties using European election study (EES) datasets
from 1989, 1994 and 1999.
Finally a systemic control for the proportionality of the electoral system was added
using Gallagher’s Least Squares index, a measure of the vote percentage and seat allocation for the political party
system.
The echo chamber of prejudice effect on anti-immigrant voting is tested by examining the effects of
overall levels of each type of grievance orientation against immigrants at the national level. The central argument
being tested here is that people residing in countries with higher levels of anti-immigrant feelings will have an
additional contextual or legitimising effect, separate from their individual attitudes and feelings, which increases
the likelihood of ERAI support. This added contextual effect is analysed by including the aggregate average of
identity and interest-based opposition to immigrants. The importance of including these measures is to examine
the between country effects separate from the within group effects (Cronbach and Webb 1975; Iversen 1991;
Mason, Wong, and Entwisle 1983) of anti-immigrant opposition. These variables allow us to address the question
of whether individuals in countries with higher levels of anti-immigrant opposition, regardless of their own
individual attitudes, are more likely to support ERAI parties.
In addition, certain individual demographic and attitudinal characteristics are linked to Extreme Right-
Wing voting, although not necessarily anti-immigrant voting. The research into these parties’ demographic profile
has reported a mixed picture with earlier studies showing a more widespread and heterogeneous support base but
more recent studies showing that the typical voter is more likely to be male, blue collar or unemployed, and
younger (, Lubbers et al., 2002; Betz, 1994; Kaymak and Mayer 1995; Kitschelt 1996). Given the relatively
minimal fluctuations in these standard demographic elements in the populations of west European nations during
the latter decades of the twentieth century, however, they are not considered direct stimulants to anti-immigrant
voting and included generally as control variables. Male and blue collar/unemployed are dummy variables and
expected to be positively related with the likelihood of ERAI support while the natural logarithm of age is expected
to be inversely related.
Given that dissatisfaction with democracy has been noted as another key element among these parties’
supporters, this variable is also included in the model (Mudde 1996; Schedler 1996). The operationalization of this
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Convention