Peer-reviewed 
journal articles
Dražanová, Lenka, Jérôme Gonnot, Tobias Heidland and Finja Krüger. 2024. Which individual-level factors explain public attitudes toward immigration? a meta-analysis. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 50(2): 317-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2023.2265576
Public attitudes toward immigration have attracted much scholarly interest and extensive empirical research in recent years. Despite a sizeable theoretical and empirical literature, no firm conclusions have been drawn regarding the factors affecting immigration opinion. We address this gap through a formal meta-analysis derived from the literature regarding immigration attitudes from the top journals of several social science disciplines in the years 2009–2019 and based on a population of 1185 estimates derived from 144 unique analyses on individual-level factors affecting attitudes to immigration. The meta-analytical findings show that two individual-level characteristics are most significantly associated with attitudes to immigration — education (positively) and age (negatively). Our results further reveal that the same individual characteristics do not necessarily explain immigration policy attitudes and attitudes toward immigrants’ contribution. The findings challenge several conventional micro-level theories of attitudes to immigration. The meta-analysis can inform future research when planning the set of explanatory variables to avoid omitting key determinants.
Dražanová, Lenka and Andrew Roberts. 2024. National Attachments and Good Citizenship: A Double-Edged Sword. Political Studies 72(2): 759-782. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217221145910
The recent popularity of nationalist movements bears witness to the continued power of national feeling in politics. This article considers the potential relationship between different kinds of national attachments and what we call active and allegiant citizenship—support for democracy, community participation, and prosocial behavior. We analyze these relationships using data from two waves of the European Values Study. We find that a set of attachments often called civic nationalism—including patriotism, national identity, and respect for one’s country’s institutions—are connected with better citizenship on virtually all of our outcomes, whereas ethnic nationalism is frequently connected with worse citizenship. These associations, however, tend to be weaker in the postcommunist states which have a different experience with both nationalism and democracy. The results suggest that national feeling can be a double-edged sword for citizenship.
Jeannet, Anne-Marie and Lenka Dražanová. 2024. Blame it on my youth: the origins of attitudes towards immigration. Acta Politica 59: 866–895. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-023-00314-6
Recent studies have demonstrated generational differences in attitudes towards immigration, however, less is known about what are the exact factors behind these differences. Our study investigates why cohorts formulate distinct patterns in attitudes towards immigration through a collective process of political socialization during their formative years. The theoretical arguments are tested using hierarchical age-period-cohort modelling across thirteen cohorts in thirteen European countries using micro attitudinal data (2002–2020) integrated with historical macro-political data. We find that contextual exposure to the principle of equality in the formative political climate is central to the formulation of a person’s attitudes towards immigration later in life. While the prevalence of the principle of equality affects immigration attitudes in adulthood positively, the principle of tradition does not. The findings imply that even subtle and cyclical shifts in national politics affect the political orientations of those undergoing the process of political socialization.
Jeannet, Anne-Marie and Lenka Dražanová. 2023. Cohort differences in attitudes toward sexual orientation: the formative political climate as a socializing agent. Frontiers in Political Science, Sec. Political Participation, Volume 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1223274
Why do cohorts differ in their attitudes toward sexual orientation and what is the role of societal values during formative years? We investigate whether discontinuities in the prevailing values of equality and tradition in a person’s formative years impinge on their attitudes toward sexual orientation as adults. We test this by integrating historical political data from the Manifesto Project Dataset with contemporary micro-data on attitudes toward sexual orientation from 10 rounds of the European Social Survey (2002-2020) across 13 cohorts in 13 European countries. Using hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis with synthetic age cohorts, we find if the value of equality is politically diffuse, it can have a socializing effect. We find that the individuals who came of age during a period when political values of equality were more dominant are more tolerant of gays and lesbians. On the other hand, we do not find any evidence that individuals who experience youth during a time of more traditional political values have more negative opinions about different sexual orientations. Overall, these findings suggest that cohorts adopt distinct patterns of attitudes toward gays and lesbians as a result of a collective process of socialization during their impressionable years.
Dražanová, Lenka and Jérôme Gonnot. 2023. Attitudes toward immigration in Europe: Cross-regional differences. Open Research Europe 3:66. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.15691.1
This article investigates how European public opinion has responded to short-term variations in regional immigration over the past decade (2010-2019). Combining data from the European Social Survey and the European Union Labour Force Survey and using multilevel modelling, we test how natives’ opinions over migration policy and the contribution of immigrants to society have changed with the net rate of international migrants in 183 EU regions from 21 countries. We find that while European natives living in regions with a higher share of foreign-born populations are generally less anti-immigrant, a short-term increase in the number of immigrants within a given region is associated with more negative attitudes. Our findings demonstrate the importance of temporal dynamics for attitudes to immigration. They also point to the relevance of regional variations in attitudes beside cross-country differences.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2022. Sometimes it is the little things: A meta-analysis of individual and contextual determinants of attitudes toward immigration (2009–2019). International Journal of Intercultural Relations 87, 85-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.01.008.
Attitudes toward immigration have attracted much scholarly interest and fuelled extensive empirical research in recent years. Many different hypotheses have been proposed to explain individual and contextual differences in attitudes towards immigration. However, it has become difficult to align all of the evidence that the literature has produced so far. The present article contributes to the systematization of political science empirical research on public attitudes toward immigration in the last decade. Using a simplified combined-tests technique, this paper identifies the micro- as well as macro-level factors that are consistently linked to attitudes toward immigration. It reports findings from a meta-analysis of the determinants of general attitudes toward immigration in published articles in thirty highly ranked peer-reviewed political science journals for the years 2009–2019. The results warrant a summary of factors affecting attitudes to immigration in a systematic, measurable and rigorous manner.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2021. Educational expansion and declining religiosity in Italy: a pathway to support for gender egalitarianism among men and women? Quaderni di Sociologia, 87- XLV, 135-160.
Cultural norms connected to the role of women in society have been changing in Italy. This article asks whether educational expansion and declining religiosity act as possible change-inducing factors to foster gender egalitarianism and if so, whether they influence all age groups or only the young in their formative years. I employ a hierarchical age-period-cohort cross-classified random effects mod[1]el across sixteen cohorts based on micro-level data from the European Values Study’s (1990 – 2020) Italian sample integrated with historical and contemporary contextual measures of educational expansion and secularization. Results show that overall, the changes over time in gender egalitarianism attributable to education and religiosity are mostly driven by period effects, not cohort replacement. I do not find socialization experiences connected to levels of (female) education and religiosity common to particular cohorts to result in distinct gender egalitarian attitudes of these cohorts.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2020. Introducing the Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization (HIEF) Dataset: Accounting for Longitudinal Changes in Ethnic Diversity. Journal of Open Humanities Data, 6(1), p.6. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/johd.16
Dramatic changes in the ethnic composition of countries in the last decades have sparked new interest among social scientists in studying and uncovering the role of ethnic diversity on social, political and economic outcomes. Yet, most ethnic fractionalization indices used by scholars to study these effects treat ethnic heterogeneity as time-invariant, thus concealing its long-term effects. However, failing to take into account historical developments in ethnic composition might seriously hinder our understanding of their effects on social, economic, and political outcomes. This paper introduces a new dataset containing an annual ethnic fractionalization index for 162 countries across all continents in the period of 1945–2013. The Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization (HIEF) dataset is a natural extension of previous ethnic fractionalization indices. It offers the opportunity to study the effects of ethnic fractionalization across countries and over time. The article concludes by offering some preliminary descriptive analysis of patterns of change in ethnic fractionalization over time.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2015. National Identity and the Interplay between National Pride and Ethnic Exclusionism: The Exceptional Case of the Czech Republic. Ethnopolitics 14 (3): 235 – 255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2014.942063
This article focuses on national identity in the post-communist Czech Republic. It empirically analyses attitudes of national pride and ethnic exclusionism and their interrelations in the years 1995 and 2003. Comparative studies dealing with national identity usually refer to the Czech Republic as an exceptional case. By focusing on the Czech case, this study contributes to a better understanding of local variations of concepts such as national pride and ethnic exclusionism. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to establish the multidimensionality of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the Czech Republic at two time-points. The interrelationships between different dimensions of national pride and of ethnic exclusionism are analysed using structural equation modelling. Data are drawn from the International Social Survey Programme National Identity Modules 1995 and 2003. Following empirical results, the paper suggests more valid dimensions for the concepts of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the distinctive Czech context and discusses their mutual relationships.
Policy Reports
Hargrave, Karen, Kseniya Homel and Lenka Dražanová. 2022. Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants: Poland country profile. London: ODI.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2021. Breaking the cycle of poverty for a more social and inclusive Europe. European Commission, Directorate–General for Regional and Urban Policy.
Gonnot, Jérôme, Lenka Dražanová and Claudia Brunori. 2020. Global Trends and Continental Differences in Attitudes to Immigration: Thinking Outside the Western Box. European University Institute, Migration Policy Centre: Policy Brief 2020/42.
Wagner, Martin, Caitlin Katsiaficas, Josephine Liebl, Leila Hadj Abdou, Lenka Dražanová and Julien Jeandesboz. 2020. The State of Play of Schengen Governance: An assessment of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism in its first multiannual programme. European Parliament: Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs
Directorate-General for Internal Policies. PE 658.699 – November 2020.
Carnevale, Anthony P., Nicole Smith, Lenka Dražanová, Artem Gulish and Kathryn Peltier Campbell. 2020. The Role of Education in Taming Authoritarian Attitudes. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
Dražanová, Lenka, Thomas Liebig, Silvia Migali, Marco Scipioni and Gilles Spielvogel. 2020. What are Europeans’ views on migrant integration?: An in-depth analysis of 2017 Special Eurobarometer “Integration of immigrants in the European Union”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 238, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f74bf2f5-en
Dražanová, Lenka. 2019. The Austrian parliamentary elections 2019: Are Austrians anti-immigrant? European University Institute, Migration Policy Centre: Policy Briefs 2019/14. doi:10.2870/356627
Dennison, James and Lenka Dražanová. 2018. Public attitudes on migration: rethinking how people perceive migration. An analysis of existing opinion polls in the Euro-Mediterranean region. ICMPD Policy Report.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2008. Populismus a nacionalismus v zemích Visegrádské skupiny po roce 1990 (‘Populism and Nationalism in the Visegrad Group Countries After 1990’). Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chancellery of the Chamber of Deputies, Parliamentary Institute, Study n˚ 1.192. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10769.79205
Dražanová, Lenka and Jindřiška Syllová. 2008. ‘Většinový volební systém v parlamentních volbách v různých státech’ (‘Majoritarian electoral systems for Parliamentary Elections in Different Countries’). Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chancellery of the Chamber of Deputies, Parliamentary Institute, Study n˚ 1.026, March 1994, review March 2008.
Books
Dražanová, Lenka. 2017. Education and Tolerance. A Comparative Quantitative Analysis of the Educational Effect on Tolerance. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.
Book chapters
Dražanová, Lenka and Andrew Geddes. 2023. Attitudes towards Ukrainian Refugees and Governmental Responses in 8 European Countries. In Carrera, Sergio and Ineli Ciger, Meltem (eds.). EU responses to the large-scale refugee displacement from Ukraine: an analysis on the temporary protection directive and its implications for the future EU asylum policy. Firenze: European University Institute.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2019. Multilevel Modelling of Binary and Ordinal Dependent Variables: Exploring the Effect of Education on Tolerance. SAGE Research Methods Cases. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526475985.
Dražanová, Lenka. 2014. Structural Equation Modelling: The Interplay between National Pride and Ethnic Exclusionism in the Czech Republic. SAGE Research Methods Cases. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978144627305013514665
Working papers
Dražanová, Lenka and Ruhs, Martin. 2024. Fair protection: public perceptions of fairness in asylum decision-making, EUI, RSC, Working Paper, 2024/37. Migration Policy Centre.
Schulte-Cloos, Julia and Lenka Dražanová. 2023. Shared identity in crisis: a comparative study of support for the EU in the face of the Russian threat, EUI, RSC, Working Paper, 2023/48, The European Governance and Politics Programme.
Dražanová, Lenka and Jérôme Gonnot. 2023. Public Opinion and Immigration in Europe: Can Regional Migration Flows Predict Public Attitudes to Immigration? Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSC, 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4386789
Šedovič, Michaela and Lenka Dražanová. 2023. What determines the shape of migrant and non-migrant populations’ attitudes toward immigration in Europe?, EUI RSC, 2023/04, Migration Policy Centre. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4390412
Dražanová, Lenka, Gonnot, Jérôme, Heidland, Tobias and Krüger, Finja. 2022. Understanding differences in attitudes to immigration: A meta-analysis of individual-level factors. Kiel Working Paper 2022/2235. ISSN: 1862–1155
Dražanová, Lenka and Andrew Roberts. 2020. Are nationalists better citizens? Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies The European Governance and Politics Programme (EGPP) 2020/90. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3783225
Are Nationalists Better Citizens?
Dražanová, Lenka. 2020. What Factors Determine Attitudes to Immigration? A Meta-Analysis of Political Science Research on Immigration Attitudes (2009-2019). Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS 2020/86. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3739910
Jeannet, Anne-Marie and Lenka Dražanová. 2019. Cast in the Same Mould: How Politics During the Impressionable Years Shapes Attitudes Towards Immigration in Later Life. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS 2019/79. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3489216
Academic blog posts
Dražanová, Lenka and Martin Ruhs. What makes asylum policies fair? A new study on the public’s view. EUIdeas corporate blog of the European University Institute, September 2024.
Dražanová, Lenka and Andrew Geddes. There’s still strong support for Ukrainian refugees across Europe: new evidence from eight countries. MPC Blog – Debate Migration, July 2023.
Dražanová, Lenka and Andrew Geddes. Europeans welcome Ukrainian refugees but governments need to show they can manage. MPC Blog – Debate Migration, June 2022.
Dražanová, Lenka. Why are Ukrainian refugees welcomed in Central and Eastern Europe? MPC Blog – Debate Migration, March 2022.
Dražanová, Lenka. Are older people more hostile towards immigrants? MPC Blog – Debate Migration, September 2021.
Dražanová, Lenka. Public attitudes to migrant workers: a (lasting) impact of Covid-19? MigResHub commentary, November 2020.
Dražanová, Lenka. The long-term closure of schools due to COVID-19: Are we set for a less tolerant future? MPC Blog – Debate Migration, June 2020.
Dražanová, Lenka. Austria’s snap election: Is the Freedom Party (FPÖ) going to fade away? EUIdeas corporate blog of the European University Institute, October 2019.
Dražanová, Lenka. Austria’s snap election: Why has the far-right Freedom Party suffered such heavy losses? University of Oslo, Center for Research on Extremism “Right Now!” blog, September 2019.
Dražanová, Lenka. Measuring Changes in Ethnic Diversity Over Time: The Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization Dataset (HIEF) MPC Blog – Debate Migration, September 2019.
Dražanová, Lenka. The Special Eurobarometer on Integration of immigrants in the European Union: How do Italians differ in their views compared to the rest of Europe? MPC Blog – Debate Migration, March 2018.
Dražanová, Lenka. Immigration and the Czech presidential election. The London School of Economics and Political Science´s EUROPP – European Politics and Policy blog, January 2018.
