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POLITICS: Global Public Favours More Immigration Controls

Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Oct 4 2007 (IPS) - While most people around the world embrace free trade and related economic features of globalisation, they also favour more restrictions on immigration into their countries, according to a major 47-nation survey released here Thursday by the Pew Global Attitudes Project (PGAP).

Indeed, of the 47 nations surveyed, majorities in only two – South Korea and the Palestinian Territories said they disagreed with the proposition that “we should further restrict and control immigration”, while at least two-thirds of respondents in 35 countries, including all 10 African countries covered by the survey, said they agreed with the statement.

Anti-immigration sentiment was particularly pronounced in Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cote D’Ivoire and South Africa, where around nine out of 10 respondents said immigrations restrictions should be tighter.

The survey, which also found that enthusiasm for economic globalisation and free trade generally remained high across the board, it had waned in western countries – North America and Europe – compared to the results of a similar PGAP survey taken five years ago.

The poll, which questioned a total of some 45,000 people, also found a “strong link” between support for tighter immigration restrictions and fears about threats to the country’s culture and traditions. Protecting traditional ways of life was a particular concern throughout the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and several African nations.

“Those who worry the most about immigration also tend to see the greatest need for protecting traditional ways of life against foreign influences,” according to the 144-page report that presented the findings.

Nonetheless, the African countries, which together constituted the regional group most worried about immigration, were also the most enthusiastic about economic globalisation, voicing positive views, in particular, for free trade and foreign companies.

Along with Asian respondents, Africans – who included respondents from Ethiopia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda – were also the most supportive of “free markets” among the six regions covered in the survey, which also covered attitudes toward religion, social issues, and democracy.

The survey, part of a series by the Pew group, was carried out by telephone or in face-to-face interviews during April and May.

Among western countries, the U.S., Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden were covered by the survey. Other European countries included Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

In Latin America, the survey covered Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Countries covered in the greater Middle East included Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, and Israel, while Pakistan, Bangladesh Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, Japan, South Korea made up the Asian contingent.

Some of the survey’s results – those pertaining in particular to global attitudes on foreign policy and international relations – were released in June. It found, for example, that views about the major powers, particularly the U.S., and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Russia, had become distinctly more negative compared to five years ago.

The same survey also found a sharp rise in concern in all regions about environmental threats to the planet, as well as about infectious diseases, and the growing gap between rich and poor nations.

The results released Thursday showed that North Americans are generally more open to immigrants than Europeans. Among the latter, however, Swedes, Poles and Bulgarians tended to be the most welcoming.

Despite their high level of concern about immigration, however, the survey found that western publics are generally less likely to back tighter controls today than they were five years ago.

Increased worries about immigration were most pronounced in Jordan, where the influx of almost one million Iraqi refugees has clearly affected public attitudes. Five years ago, less than half of Jordanians said they wanted tighter controls; that has now risen to 70 percent.

On economic globalisation, more than four out of five respondents worldwide said they had positive views toward international trade, although support was weakest the U.S. where only 59 percent of respondents held that opinion, down substantially from 78 percent five years ago.

Among all respondents, two-thirds said they felt positively toward “free markets”. Compared to five years ago, the greatest improvements in its standing took place in Argentina, Poland, Bulgaria, Kenya and South Asia. In Bangladesh, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement, “People are better off in free markets” jumped from 32 percent to 81 percent – the highest percentage among all 46 countries.

The survey found strong support for environmental protection, even at the cost of slower economic growth and job loss. Majorities in all of the countries except Indonesia said they agreed with the statement, “Protecting the environment should be given priority, even if it causes slower economic growth and some loss of jobs.” Support for that proposition was strong Europe and Latin America where more than 70 percent of respondents voiced their agreement.

As to religion, the relationship between religion and morality, the survey found a sharp divide between wealthy and poor countries. Majorities in every developing country – ranging up to the high nineties in Jordan, Indonesia, and Egypt – except Argentina, Israel, and China agreed with the assertion that one “must believe in God to be moral”.

With the exception of the U.S., where 57 percent agreed with the proposition, that was the minority view among all developed countries included in the survey.

There was much more agreement, however, on the division between church and state, with majorities in 46 of the 47 countries agreeing that “Religion is a matter of personal faith and should be kept separate from government policy.” That view was less popular in the Middle East region than in the rest of the world.

But the survey found that support for maintaining the church-state divide has eroded in much of the world compared to five years ago and has fallen sharply in two key U.S. allies, Turkey and Pakistan.

It also found that attitudes in the U.S. differed from those of other affluent nations in several ways, including in the relationship between religion and morality. U.S. respondents were somewhat more likely than those of its NATO allies to support the use of force abroad.

In addition, a majority of U.S. respondents said their culture is superior to others, a larger proportion than most other Western publics, with the exception of Italy where nearly 70 percent said their way of life was superior.