Driving Forces for Changing Attitudes to Immigration in Sweden : A study of the evolution of attitudes towards immigration: A correlational analysis of driving forces from 2002-2018 with a focus on political trust

Abstract: Research has shown that attitudes to immigration can change due to various factors. In recent years, immigration has become an increasingly polarizing issue in Sweden, with many politicians and parties framing it as intertwined with other issues. Negative framing of immigrants has contributed to more negative attitudes towards immigration among the public. As a result, political trust has emerged as a new and important topic that had not previously been mainly considered in studies of attitudes towards immigration in Sweden. This thesis examines the driving forces behind changing attitudes to immigration in Sweden between 2002-2018. During this period, we witnessed significant events such as 2008 global financial and 2015 refugee crises. The study used data from the European Social Survey (2002-2018) to analyze the correlation between demographic, economy, safety, culture, societal cohesion, political trust, and changes in attitudes towards immigration to answer the research question: What are the driving forces for changing attitudes to immigration in Sweden? The findings suggested that political trust had the most significant effect. Additionally, societal cohesion and political trust were the most changing trends among all the perceptions explored in this research. The study contributes to understanding changing attitudes towards immigration in Sweden and the driving forces behind them to provide valuable insights to address the challenges of immigration. This research deepens our understanding of the multidimensional nature of immigration and provides another explanation to help tackle the challenges of immigration and integration policies.   Keywords: Attitudes towards immigration, political trust, societal cohesion, polarization, Sweden