Coveting Uniformity in a Diverse World: The Authoritarian Roots of Welfare Chauvinism in Postmigration Crisis Germany

In: Social science quarterly, Band 101, Heft 4, S. 1255-1270

Abstract

ObjectiveTo explore the links between authoritarian personality traits and welfare chauvinism by controlling for a host of alternative explanations while also investigating whether these links are additive or interacting with other triggering variables.MethodUsing the online survey platform Qualtrics, a stratified sample of 1,010 respondents in Germany was recruited in January 2019. Authoritarian personality is operationalized by applying the fourfold child‐rearing scale pioneered by Feldman and Stenner.ResultsFindings indicate that authoritarianism has an independent, additive effect on welfare chauvinism, but cultural and economic threats do not systematically mediate the effect of authoritarianism on welfare chauvinism.ConclusionSubmissive authoritarianism is significantly linked to a desire to disentitle immigrants from using welfare benefits.