Xenophobic Puzzle: Response to the Refugee Crisis in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The project involves discovering main reasons for the raise of xenophobia and nationalism in the Czech Republic in the context of the refugee crisis starting from 2011 and escalating in 2015. The goal of the research is to test three possible hypotheses in order to answer the question why Czechs are resistant to accept refugees provoked by the Arab Spring events and reluctant to express their solidarity to share the burden with Germany. First hypothesis explores the level of multicultural diversity and its extent of the influence on the perception formation of a newcomer with the help of statistical tools and historical sources. Coexistence of different peoples within one state does not guarantee absence of xenophobia and a rise of the far Right parties. Second hypothesis suggests that the securitized image of a Muslim immigrant generated by the media and public officials is the major source of an attitude formation of the Czech population who historically lack the contact with Islamic culture. The content analysis exposed to what extent the media and public figures have an influence on the construction of a refugee’s image. Third hypothesis illustrates connection between potential economic inputs of immigrants that are to cover demographic and economic gaps of the state and perception of a refugee. The Weber’s theory of culture, Weaver’s securitization theory and neo-classic theory of economics help to filter the sources of attitudes’ cultivation. Evaluating the level of influence of the three indicators, I found that the fear of unknown heated up by the public discourse, which always links Islam with terrorism, emancipates xenophobia through the persistent resistance to accept refugees from the war zones like Syria.