Openings to the Inclusion of Muslim Minorities in Today’s Democracies

At the heart of contemporary politics in the old democracies in Europe and North America is a significant puzzle.

How come the far right, advocating a nativist agenda particularly opposed to Muslims and Islam, is advancing at a time when public opinion research documents stability or decline in illiberal values in these populations at large?

Current studies understandably focus on accounting for exclusion – opposition to Muslims, prejudice, islamophobia, and nativism.

In the INCLUDE project, I propose to expand the scope of inquiry beyond drivers of exclusion to investigate the openness of non-Muslim majorities to the inclusion of Muslim minorities. I ask, under what conditions—on what terms—are they open to inclusion?

This research question brings conceptual and empirical attention to different aspects of public opinion and different segments within the public than are currently at the center of attention in research on intergroup attitudes and support for the far right. A major program of new data collection is needed to test the new hypotheses and implications raised.

To manage the risks involved in taking research in a new direction, I propose to collect data in sequences of survey experiments in a few countries where we already have a solid base of knowledge to build upon—Norway, Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

The potential gains are considerable: The proposed new framework narrows down the conditions under which exclusionary actors, such as the far right, are likely to gain political influence. It highlights different aspects of the strategies and policies adopted by inclusive actors than are currently in focus.

It identifies polarization traps that can fuel mistrust between “people” and “elites.” All in all, the project can bring forth vital new knowledge needed by those who seek to address one of the most significant societal challenges of our time—how to live peacefully together as diverse societies.