Immigration and Politics in the New Europe

With almost a quarter of the world’s migrants, Europe has been attempting to regulate migration and harmonize immigration policy at the European level. The central dilemma exposed is how liberal democracies can reconcile the need to control the movement of people with the desire to promote open borders, free markets and liberal standards. Gallya Lahav’s book traces ten years of public opinion and elite attitudes toward immigration cross-nationally to show how and why increasing EU integration may not necessarily lead to more open immigration outcomes. Empirical evidence reveals that support from both elite and public opinion has led to the adoption of restrictive immigration policies despite the requirements of open borders. Unique in bringing together original data on European legislators and national elites, longitudinal data on public opinion and institutional and policy analyses, this study provides an important insight into the processes of European integration, and globalization more broadly.

• Extremely topical - immigration is one of the great issues of contemporary European politics • Combines rich empirical data and original attitudinal approach to immigration politics in the EU • Provides an overview of EU migration policies over time, with attention to national comparisons, thus serving as a comprehensive reference

List of figures and tables; Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Toward a People’s Europe: an institutional analysis of immigration policy in the European Union; 3. An attitudinal portrait of a People’s Europe: a comparative overview of public opinion and elite preferences; 4. Immigration politics and the New Europe: organizing competing interests; 5. The ‘European Factor’: institutional and psychological constraints on immigration attitudes; 6. Conclusions: the construction of a European immigration regime?; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

\'… very detailed and empirically supported examination … she provides a formidable explanation for attuning increased EU integration with a growing national level of influence in the immigration policy field … Lahav\'s contribution to the academic study of immigration unquestionably provides a landmark for further research.\' Journal of European Affairs