SGER: Liberal Democracy Under Pressure

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

The inclusion of Muslim immigrant communities is arguably the most demanding political challenge facing liberal democracies in Western Europe. A large research literature has addressed one dimension of this challenge -- the rise of radical right parties (e.g., Stubager 2008; Green-Pederson and Odmalm 2008; Bjørklund and Andersen; Togeby 1998). An emerging literature is documenting another dimension - the conflict of cultural norms (e.g., Sniderman and Hagendoorn 2007). This project explores potentially the deepest strain of all - between the norms of liberal democracy on the one side and the requirements of religious inclusion on the other. The Danish "Cartoon Crisis" is one of the most dramatic examples of the strain between the values of liberal democracy and the honor of the Muslim faith. Denmark is accordingly the focus of this study. But its findings have broad relevance to liberal democracies in Western Europe. This exploratory study focuses on two questions. First, does an intense clash over colliding values increase popular intolerance toward Muslim immigrants? Second, is popular opinion responsive to elite interventions in support of democratic values? The answers to these to questions will help illuminate the scope of choices open to political leaders during moments of crisis. If the answer to the first question is no, and the answer to the second yes, political elites have room to chose policies that are experimental and inclusive. If the answer to the first question is yes and the answer to the second is no, political elites have less room to maneuver and will be under, at least in the short run pressure to adopt "tough on Muslim" policies -- for example, making the standards to acquire citizenship more demanding. For its empirical base, this study relies on three separate - but temporally overlapping - surveys of the general public conducted under the direction of Professor Lise Togeby. This set of partly overlapping surveys provides a unique record of public reactions spanning two distinct intervals -- when the Cartoon Crisis was in the forefront of public attention and when it had receded into the background. The surveys also include randomized experiments that both replicate previous research and extend it in innovative ways.