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Lenka Dražanová, Ph.D.
lenka.drazanova@eui.eu
Research Associate
European University Institute
About Me:
I am a social scientist and a Research Associate (post-doctoral researcher) at the European University Institute's Migration Policy Centre (MPC), where I work on the Observatory of Public Attitudes to Migration (OPAM) project. Before joining the EUI, I was a post-doctoral researcher with the Excellence Initiative at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. I received my PhD (Summa Cum Laude) in Political Science from Humboldt-University's Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences in 2016 with a dissertation entitled Where and Why are the Higher Educated More Inclined to Tolerate? Explaining the Educational Effect on Tolerance. I hold a Master of Arts in Political Science from Central European University in Hungary (2010) and a BA in Political Science from Charles University in the Czech Republic (2008). While mostly trained as a political scientist, my research interests lie at the intersection of political science, sociology, and political psychology. I am interested in untangling some of the phenomena we see in the contemporary world, such as increased polarization within groups and social identities, the rise of authoritarianism and a shift towards less tolerant societies. More specifically, in my research I mainly analyze political behaviour, public opinion and individual attitudes formation and the conditions under which specific attitudes emerge using advanced quantitative methods.
Research Interests
Public Opinion
Race, Ethnicity and Politics
Political Psychology
Immigration
Anti-Immigrant Attitudes
Political Attitudes
Nationalism, National Identity
Public Attitude/opinion
Survey Research
Polarization
My Research:
My research interests lie in the fields of political behaviour, public opinion, comparative politics and political sociology. I am particularly interested in the factors that contribute to the formation of public opinion and attitudes (particularly attitudes to migration, populism, nationalism, xenophobia, tolerance) using quantitative methods. My primary research agenda has two specific areas that revolve around the question of whether we can really identify a current shift towards intolerant, populist and nationalist societies, and if so, how can we explain the underlying causes.
Firstly, I examine the development of populism, nationalism and xenophobia, from both – the supply-side and demand-side perspective, and the challenges they provide to (liberal) democracy. On the one hand, I focus on comparative populism and nationalism. For instance, my work compared populist and nationalist tendencies in the new Member States of Central Europe over the past two decades and their consequences for the EU and European integration. On the other hand, I also published case studies about national identity, national pride and ethnic exclusionism. Secondly, I focus on comparative political behaviour and political/social attitudes and their interdependence with policy, institutions, political actors and cultures. Generally, I study why people (and countries) differ in their attitudes and what are the specific factors contributing to these differences. I am especially interested in political socialization processes and studying how individuals’ attitudes are formed from an early age onwards. For instance, I have published a book (Education and Tolerance) with a specific focus on differences in tolerant attitudes by educational background or, recently, a working paper explaining why cohorts formulate distinct patterns in attitudes towards immigration through a collective process of political socialization during the formative years. My research applies advanced statistical methods such as structural equation modelling, multilevel modelling and hierarchical multilevel cross-classified modelling. I have also written on the practical use of these advanced techniques.
Publications:
Journal Articles:
Dramatic changes in the ethnic composition of countries in the last decades have sparked new interest among social scientists in studying and uncovering the role of ethnic diversity on social, political and economic outcomes. Yet, most ethnic fractionalization indices used by scholars to study these effects treat ethnic heterogeneity as time-invariant, thus concealing its long-term effects. However, failing to take into account historical developments in ethnic composition might seriously hinder our understanding of their effects on social, economic, and political outcomes. This paper introduces a new dataset containing an annual ethnic fractionalization index for 162 countries across all continents in the period of 1945–2013. The Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization (HIEF) dataset is a natural extension of previous ethnic fractionalization indices. It offers the opportunity to study the effects of ethnic fractionalization across countries and over time. The article concludes by offering some preliminary descriptive analysis of patterns of change in ethnic fractionalization over time.
The recent rise in the popularity of nationalist movements tells us that more attention should be paid to the effects of national feeling on politics. This article considers the potential relationship between national identity and active and allegiant citizenship and particularly whether nationalists and patriots are better citizens than those who have weaker feelings towards their country. We analyze these relationships using data from the European Values Study in 2008 and 2017. Our main models control for a variety of political, social, and economic causes of good citizenship and include country fixed effects in addition to three measures of national feeling. Our findings indicate that civic national identity is connected with better citizenship on virtually all of our outcomes, whereas ethnic national identity is frequently connected with worse citizenship. We explain these results using social identity theory and theories of prejudice. The results suggest that politicians ignore or downplay national feeling at their peril.
Attitudes toward immigration have attracted much scholarly interest and fuelled extensive empirical research in recent years. Many different hypotheses have been proposed to explain individual and contextual differences in attitudes towards immigration. However, it has become difficult to align all of the evidence that the literature has produced so far. The present article contributes to the systematization of political science empirical research on public attitudes toward immigration in the last decade. Using a simplified combined-tests technique, this paper identifies the micro- as well as macro-level factors that are consistently linked to attitudes toward immigration. It reports findings from a meta-analysis of the determinants of general attitudes toward immigration in published articles in thirty highly ranked peer-reviewed political science journals for the years 2009 – 2019. The results warrant a summary of factors affecting attitudes to immigration in a systematic, measurable and rigorous manner.
In this Policy Brief we present a global overview of long-term trends and current attitudes to immigration across the world to highlight: • Concerns about immigration in Western European and American countries have followed a different pattern than in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe over the last 40 years. • Social and cultural concerns about immigration are relatively more salient than economic concerns in the Western world and more developed countries, while the opposite is true of developing countries in South America, Africa, and Asia. • Asia and Africa are the continents most concerned with economic risks associated with immigration such as unemployment.• Differences in attitudes to immigration by socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education, or gender vary greatly across continents and countries. • Western European countries, the United States, New Zealand and Australia become increasingly favourable to immigrants as the share of immigrant population increases. In contrast, no such pattern is observable in other parts of the world.
This article focuses on national identity in the post-communist Czech Republic. It empirically analyses attitudes of national pride and ethnic exclusionism and their interrelations in the years 1995 and 2003. Comparative studies dealing with national identity usually refer to the Czech Republic as an exceptional case. By focusing on the Czech case, this study contributes to a better understanding of local variations of concepts such as national pride and ethnic exclusionism. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to establish the multidimensionality of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the Czech Republic at two time-points. The interrelationships between different dimensions of national pride and of ethnic exclusionism are analysed using structural equation modelling. Data are drawn from the International Social Survey Programme National Identity Modules 1995 and 2003. Following empirical results, the paper suggests more valid dimensions for the concepts of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the distinctive Czech context and discusses their mutual relationships.
Books Written:
This book examines to what extent the effect of education on political and social tolerance varies cross-nationally. It gives an inventory of micro- and macro- level factors moderating this effect. The empirical analysis is based on comparative surveys across 24 and 33 countries at two time points. Results indicate that the positive effect of education does not always overcome the negative effects of personality characteristics and low socio-economic status. Moreover, education contributes to more tolerant views only in countries with certain political, socio-economic and cultural background. Overall, the book argues that there are several micro- and macro-level conditions that should be fulfilled before one may proclaim education as the universal problem solver.
Book Chapters:
While the positive relationship between education and tolerance is well documented in the developed West, evidence from countries with different geographical, political, socio-economic, and cultural background is more limited. Moreover, based on preliminary empirical evidence, I expected that the liberalizing effect of education may not be as universal as often assumed and may vary across national contexts. Using an analysis of variations in aggregate levels of tolerance as well as in the educational effect as a practical example, this case study shows how to apply multilevel modelling techniques using multilevel logistic and multilevel ordinal regression models. At the micro-level, data reported in the analysis are derived from the World Values Survey third wave (1995–1998) across 24 countries. At the macro-level, data are derived from the Polity IV project’s dataset regarding countries’ political regimes. The case study reviews the basic concepts, terminology, and applications of multilevel modelling.
Using an article focused on national identity in the post-communist Czech Republic as a practical example, this case study shows how to empirically assess a research problem with the help of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. This article analyses attitudes of national pride and ethnic exclusionism and their interrelations in the Czech Republic for the year 2003. Data are drawn from the International Social Survey Programme National Identity Module 2003. First, confirmatory factor analysis is used to establish the multidimensionality of national pride and of ethnic exclusionism. Second, the interrelationships between different dimensions of national pride and of ethnic exclusionism are analysed using structural equation modelling. The case study reviews the basic concepts, terminology and applications of structural equation modelling.
Other:
Key findings; - College graduates are less inclined to express authoritarian preferences and attitudes than their peers with less education. - Liberal arts majors in particular are less inclined to express authoritarian preferences and attitudes than majors in business-related fields and STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). - Higher education provides people with a greater sense of security. As a result, it can lead to the development of interpersonal trust, which is associated with a weaker inclination toward expressing authoritarian preferences and attitudes. - People with postsecondary education are more economically secure than those without it, and people who are economically secure are less inclined to express authoritarian preferences and attitudes. - People with postsecondary education are more likely to be politically active, which in the United States is associated with a lower inclination toward expressing authoritarian preferences and attitudes. - Postsecondary education tends to expose people to secular values and cultures, leading them to be less inclined to express authoritarian preferences and attitudes.
This paper provides an in-depth description of public opinion about immigrants’ integration in European countries, as captured in the 2017 Special Eurobarometer on this topic. It highlights a near consensus among European respondents on the meaning of integration, but more variation across countries regarding policy options to support integration. It also shows that positive opinions about immigration are often associated with a favourable public perception of integration. Looking at the individual correlates of opinions about immigration and integration, this paper finds that actual knowledge about the magnitude of immigration is positively correlated with attitudes to immigration but not integration. In contrast, more interactions with immigrants are associated with more positive views on integration but not necessarily on immigration.
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, assesses the operation and impact of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism in its first multiannual programme (2014-19), with the aim of identifying what has worked well and developing recommendations to strengthen it. The past decade has presented multiple controversies involving the governments of Schengen states as well as EU institutions, leading to a persistent state of apparent crisis. The ongoing “Schengen crisis” is rooted in political changes and in structural shortcomings of the Schengen regime. Despite these obstacles, the resilience of the Schengen system should not be underestimated.
This study investigates how the tenor of the political climate during a person’s youth affects his or her attitudes towards immigration in adulthood. We analyze why cohorts formulate distinct patterns in attitudes towards immigration through a collective process of political socialization during the formative years. The theoretical arguments are tested using hierarchical age-period-cohort modelling across twelve cohorts in nine European countries using micro attitudinal data (2002-2016) integrated with historical macro-political data. We find that contextual exposure to principles of equality and tradition in the formative political climate is central to the formulation of a person’s attitudes towards immigration later in life. While the prevalence of the principle of equality affects immigration attitudes in adulthood positively, the principle of tradition does so negatively. The findings imply that even subtle and cyclical shifts in national politics affect the political orientations of those undergoing the process of political socialization.
Austrians go to the polls this week to elect a new Parliament. Immigration has been a key theme in recent Austrian and EU politics. In this policy brief, Lenka Drazanova from the Observatory of Public Attitudes to Migration analyses attitudes to migration in Austria to show that it is immigration’s issue salience that explains the electoral success of Austrian anti-immigration political parties rather than overall opposition to immigration among the Austrian population.
The report includes a comprehensive data inventory of all extant quantitative evidence of attitudes to immigration and emigration in all 17 countries since 2010. For the Southern Partner Countries (SPCs), this includes 35 datasets. In Europe, where such surveys are considerably more common and exclusively focused on immigration, sources were divided into three groups: international academic surveys; national academic surveys; and commercial polling companies. The key findings about what attitudes to migration are include the following: • In Europe, contrary to popular belief, attitudes to immigration are not becoming more negative. Rather, they are notably stable and, in recent years, have become more positive. • What emerges unambiguously is that Europeans everywhere want immigrants who are able to assimilate socially, labour market issues like professional qualifications are considered important but less so, while racial and religious backgrounds are considered unimportant. • Unlike preferences about immigration, the perceived importance of the issue of immigration is volatile and has risen sharply across Europe. As such, it will likely continue to dominate national and European elections discourses in 2019. In this context, voters most concerned about immigration—who often already held anti-immigration attitudes—are more likely to vote for anti-immigration parties, even when these parties do not align with other issues they believe in. • Europeans increasingly associate the EU with not enough control at external borders, though far less so than with freedom of movement. At the same time, major Southern host countries must contend with persistently critical domestic attitudes towards the hosted displaced populations of concern.
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
Keynote lecture on attitudes to immigration (in Czech)
contribution “Border restrictions in the EU: what does the public think?"
Radio Appearances:
in Italian - covegno "Migrazioni e asilo nella regione Euro-mediterranea"
Newspaper Quotes:
Liberal Arts Education Counteracts Authoritarianism in Universities and Politics, GU Report Says
Postsecondary education can play a critical role in protecting democratic states from the threat of authoritarianism, says a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) in collaboration with Lenka Dražanová of the European University Institute.
Article using, among other data, the Historical index of ethnic fractionalization (HIEF) dataset
Artcile regarding the study The State of Play of Schengen Governance: An assessment of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism in its first multiannual programme
Article summarizing the findings of the study The Role of Education in Taming Authoritarian Attitudes
Article summarizing the findings of the study The Role of Education in Taming Authoritarian Attitudes
The Ask the Expert Policy Briefsarehighly informative tools proposed in the framework of the ReSOMA project. They tap into the most recent academic research on the 9 topics covered by ReSOMA and map it out in a way that is accessible to a non-academic audience. By doing so, the briefs introduce the policy-relevant research conducted by researchers with different approaches and perspectives on the same topic.
Blog Posts:
The long-term closure of schools due to COVID-19: Are we set for a less tolerant future?
Austria’s snap election: Is the Freedom Party (FPÖ) going to fade away?
Austria’s snap election: Why has the far-right Freedom Party suffered such heavy losses?
Measuring Changes in Ethnic Diversity Over Time: The Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization Dataset (HIEF)
Eurobarometro, speciale immigrazione: in che modo le opinioni degli italiani differiscono da quelle dei cittadini europei?
Immigration and the Czech presidential election
Other:
Interview
interview for the Hatefree online platform (in Czech)
The Observatory of Public Attitudes to Migration’s team discussed with Ryan Heath, Political Editor of Politico, Mark Hugo Lopez, Director of Global Migration and Demography Research at PEW Research Centre, and Danila Chiaro, Project Manager at ICMPD, the politics and policy of migration at the 2019 European Parliament elections. The speakers looked into recent changes in public attitudes, party positions, likely future policy dynamics and present a predictive model to forecast the result of the election based on findings of the Migration Policy Centre’s new report, published by ICMPD.
"Perceptions of Migration in Europe. Implications for Policy-Making" meeting