Einstellungen zu Ausländern und zum Thema Migration in Deutschland und Österreich

Abstract

We compared a national representative sample of about 2,000 respondents in Austria with the data collected in the 1996 ALLBUS survey in order to analyze perceptions and knowledge of the size and background of the foreigner populations in eastern and western Germany and Austria with the aim of ascertaining the extent and possible causes of xenophobia and the distance shown toward foreigners in Germany and Austria.

The results indicate that acquaintance with and personal experience shape opinions about the size of the foreign population. The findings show that people in eastern and western Germany and in Austria support restrictive immigration policies, and in both countries xenophobic tendencies create strong potential for conflict in the context of migration.