Research question/goal:

The project examines differences in democratic values between migrants and non-migrants and seeks to explain these differences through socialisation processes in both countries of origin and destination. It employs refined indicators to capture individuals’ perception of democracy more precisely and to explore whether migrants from authoritarian regimes adapt their values after migrating to democratic countries or whether it is primarily people with already strong democratic values who tend to migrate. Furthermore, the project analyses the relative importance individuals assign to democratic norms compared to other political objectives, which will be tested through trade-off experiments that measure respondents’ willingness to compromise on democratic values. Finally, the role of social norms in shaping migrants’ democratic attitudes will be investigated, in particular through list experiments designed to uncover the role of social desirability. Overall, the project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the extent to which democratic regimes function as pull factors for migration, how political socialisation in non-democratic regimes affects support for democratic values, and whether education and integration measures can promote democratic values among migrants.