Welcome! Democratic attitudes and reactions toward immigrants in Latin America’s emerging democracies

Abstract

Scholars of support for democracy have historically been concerned with its causes, with the assumption that higher support for democratic values will enhance the chances of democracy’s survival in the country. Beyond this fundamental proposition concerning the effects of citizens’ support for democracy, the consequences of varying levels of support for democratic values remain largely unstudied. In this dissertation, I examine the relationship between support for democratic values and views toward immigration in Latin America, a region that is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the movement of people across borders. Through an analysis of Latin Americans attitudes toward foreign born residents, I find strong evidence for the argument that support for democratic values not only has potential benefits for democratic sustainability in the region, but also for the move toward higher quality democracies by reducing social conflict and distrust that can stem from increasing immigration in a volatile economic context.