Immigration and Politics in the New Europe

This 2004 book is an empirical study of public opinion and elite attitudes towards immigration in the EU.

Immigration is a central issue in European politics. Gallya Lahav's 2004 book places the issue in the context of a Europe where the logic of the single market clashes with national policymaking. The book shows how restrictive immigration policies have been adopted, despite the requirements of open borders.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 2004 study provides an important insight into the processes of European integration, and globalization more broadly.