The Relationship Between Welfare State and Immigration in Europe: The Case of Welfare Chauvinism

The aim of this article is to evaluate the relationship between welfare state and immigration with reference to welfare chauvinism. The main argument of the article is that anti-immigrant attitudes and xenophobia in Europe are mostly expressed via welfare chauvinism. Another argument that complements the main argument is that i) social integration of the existing immigrants and ii) tackling increased anti-immigrant attitudes and xenophobia have been at Europe‟s agenda – i.e. the political agenda of the European Union and separate European States- since the 1970s. It is concluded in the article that welfare chauvinism has significantly othered immigrants in Europe.