Replication Data for: “Stand by those who share our values" – how refugees fleeing the Taliban improved European attitudes toward immigration

Several existing studies have found that negative political framing of immigrants increases anti-immigrant public attitudes. I conduct two studies that reveal conditions under which the opposite dynamic unfolds. I argue that when refugees are framed as vulnerable, assimilable, and deserving of help, this should cause a reduction in anti-immigrant sentiment. In the first study, analyzing the case of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, I demonstrate such deservingness frames with computational and qualitative text analyses of news archival data and social media posts by political elites. In the second study, I show with an unexpected event during survey design that the positive framing of refugees during this highly salient event led to a significant immediate and long-term increase in pro-immigration attitudes across Europe. Together, these findings suggest that it is possible for politicians and journalists to effectively reduce xenophobia during large-scale refugee arrivals by highlighting refugees' vulnerability and assimilability.

已有多项研究证实，对移民采用负面政治叙事会加剧公众的反移民态度。本研究开展两项实证分析，揭示了反向效应得以显现的前提条件。本文提出，当难民被塑造为脆弱、可同化且值得援助的形象时，将有效削弱反移民情绪。第一项研究以2021年塔利班接管阿富汗事件为分析案例，通过对新闻档案数据与政治精英发布的社交媒体帖文进行计算文本分析与质性文本分析，验证了此类值得援助的叙事框架。第二项研究则借助问卷设计过程中的意外事件，证明在此高度受公众关注的事件中，针对难民的正面叙事推动欧洲民众的亲移民态度出现了显著的即时提升与长期增益。综上，本研究结果表明，政客与新闻从业者可通过强调难民的脆弱性与可同化性，在大规模难民入境期间有效缓解排外情绪。