THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION POLICY CHANGES ON THE PUBLIC OPINION ON IMMIGRATION A Case Study of Austria and Sweden

Abstract: In this thesis, I examine the relationship between national immigration policy changes and its effect on public opinion towards immigration in Austria and Sweden. Previous literature had mainly focused on the impact of public opinion on policy changes while the reverse relationship has not been examined to the same degree. The empirical background and starting point of the thesis is the so-called migration or refugee crisis which had its onset in the second half of 2015. As immigration became more salient due to the crisis, I am going to examine policy changes and public opinion from the end of 2010 until the end of 2016 using the comparative case study approach and qualitative content analysis. The result is that there is a connection between the restrictive policy changes and public attitudes towards immigration even though the link is not as strong as expected.