In this MPC seminar, James Dennison and Andrew Geddes will present their book What Europeans Think About Immigration and Why It Matters, a major new study of immigration attitudes in contemporary Europe. Drawing on extensive survey data across countries, decades, and moments of crisis, the book examines not only what Europeans think about immigration, but how these views are formed, why they endure, and how they shape political life. Combining insights from political science, psychology, sociology, and public policy, Dennison and Geddes offer an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the beliefs, emotions, values, media influences, economic conditions, and national contexts that shape public opinion on immigration.

The book challenges common assumptions about the volatility of immigration attitudes, showing them to be more stable, multidimensional, and resistant to change than is often assumed. A central focus of the book is salience: why immigration becomes politically important at some moments and not others. The authors explore how immigration rises on the public agenda, why it resonates with some voters more than others, and how this has affected party competition, policymaking, political communication, and the rise of radical-right parties across Europe. The seminar will be of interest to scholars, students, policymakers, and all those seeking to understand the deeper cognitive, emotional, and structural forces that shape public attitudes toward migration and its governance.