Violence, displacement, contact, and attitudes toward hosting refugees
| Author | Alex Braithwaite,Faten Ghosn,Tiffany S Chu |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343318804581 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Research Articles |
Violence, displacement, contact,
and attitudes toward hosting refugees
Faten Ghosn
Alex Braithwaite
Tiffany S Chu
School of Government & Public Policy, University of Arizona
Abstract
How do individuals’ personal experiences with various aspects of political violence affect their attitudes toward
hosting conflict refugees? More specifically, how do their personal exposure to violence, their own personal
experience of being displaced, and their recent contact with refugees influence these attitudes? To explore
answers to these questions, we draw upon a recent survey of 2,400 Lebanese residents where we identify
individuals who experienced violence during the Lebanese civil war (1975–90), those forced to flee their homes
during that conflict, and those who enjoy recent contact with Syrian immigrant and/or displaced populations.
We examine whether these distinct experiences affect respondents’ regard for members of the Syrian refugee
population. Results demonstrate that historical exposure to violence and experience of displacement have no
discernible impact on individual attitudes toward hosting refugees. We find much stronger evidence that
attitudes are associated with whether individual respondents have had contact with Syrians in Lebanon; those
with such interactions are significantly more likely to support hosting refugees, to consider hiring a refugee, or
to allow one of their children to marry a refugee. Our findings suggest exposure to violence by itself does not
correlate to positive sentiments toward refugees, especially over time. Further, finding ways to create positive
contact between refugees and native populations may be associated with improving attitudes and relations
between the two populations.
Keywords
contact theory, exposure to violence, Lebanon, public attitudes, refugees, Syrian civil war
Introduction
The ongoing Syrian civil war displaced more than half of
the country’s populace. This includes more than five
million refugees who have been forced to flee to neigh-
boring countries and further afield (UNHCR: United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2017). While
a great deal of heart has been demonstrated by popula-
tions hosting Syrian refugees during this crisis, attitudes
toward and support for hosting appear to have frayed
over time in many countries (Dempster & Hargrave,
2017). These changing attitudes accompany rising num-
bers of attacks against refugee populations (see e.g. Ben-
c
ˇek & Strasheim, 2016; Savun & Gineste, 2018) and
overblown accusations of problems caused by refugees
(Kermoliotis, 2016). Conventional wisdom suggests eco-
nomic conditions on the ground, intercultural interac-
tions, and fear regarding security implications affect local
attitudes toward hosting refugees.
We contribute to research on this topic in four
important ways. First, we focus on Lebanon, which
hosts more than one million refugees from Syria – the
highest per capita hosting rate globally. Given the
extraordinary effort of the Lebanese to host Syrian
Corresponding author:
abraith@email.arizona.edu
Journal of Peace Research
2019, Vol. 56(1) 118–133
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343318804581
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refugees, this case represents an important litmus test
for the limits of native population support for hosting
refugees. While much of the current discussion con-
cerning the costs of hosting refugees centers upon the
European continent, we suggest more evidence is
needed on the dynamics in Syria’s overburdened and
fragile neighboring countries.
Second, we speak to the growing literature on the
effects of exposure to violence on attitudes and empathy
toward refugees. We do so by following standard practice
and looking at a direct indicator of whether or not
respondents were exposed to acts of violence historically
– that is, during the Lebanese civil war (1975–90). We
then offer an innovative twist on this concept by asses-
sing whether respondents were themselves forced to flee
their own homes at some stage during that conflict. It
seems plausible to expect these experiences might affect
respondents’ attitudes toward hosting refugees (Bauer
et al., 2016). On the one hand, individuals that have
experienced the horrors and costs of conflict themselves
may be more likely to feel empathy for refugees and
consider them deserving of support (Hartman & Morse,
2018). On the other hand, these experiences can have
the effect of hardening prejudice and undermining sup-
port for hosting (Bauer et al., 2014; Beber, Roessler &
Scacco, 2014).
Third, in addition to focusing upon aggregate levels of
support for hosting refugees (Adida, Lo & Platas, 2017),
we assess attitudes regarding other ways in which locals
themselves are willing to aid or associate with refugees.
Specifically, we assess Lebanese residents’ willingness to
hire refugees or to allow them to marry their children.
This combination of attitudes helps, we argue, to build a
more robust sense of what Collier (2013) refers to as
‘mutual regard’, which could be thought of as necessary
for successful integration of refugee populations.
Fourth, we test the validity of the traditional contact
hypothesis under very difficult conditions. We argue that
respondents’ attitudes regarding refugees are conditioned
by the extent of their contact with Syrians in Lebanon.
Building upon the ‘contact hypothesis’ (Allport, 1954),
we suggest respondents’ contact with Syrians helps
reduce their prejudices and enhance their levels of sup-
port (c.f. Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; Savelkoul et al.,
2011; Homola & Tavits, 2018). As noted above, how-
ever, Lebanon is under considerable stress as a host of
such a large refugee population. Accordingly, levels of
support for hosting refugees are in decline (Ghosn &
Braithwaite, 2018). Thus, ours represents an especially
taxing examination of the contact hypothesis.
To test these various expectations, we analyze data on
individual attitudes towards hosting refugees drawn from
a new survey of 2,400 Lebanese residents carried out
during the summer of 2017. We compare attitudes
among individuals, differentiating between their relative
experiences during the Leban ese civil war (1975–90),
including whether or not they were exposed to violence
and/or forced to flee their home, as well as the extent of
their more recent contact with Syrians (including refu-
gees) in Lebanon. Our tests demonstrate that individu-
als’ exposure to violence and experience of displacement
are not associated with their relative levels of support for
hosting refugees. We find much stronger evidence, how-
ever, that individuals’ attitudes are associated with
whether or not they have had contact with Syrians in
Lebanon. Those with contact are shown to be signifi-
cantly more likely to support hosting refugees.
The Lebanese context
Before reviewing existing research and proceeding to
derive testable hypotheses, we first provide more context
regarding the case of interest in this study. Lebanon has
its own long history with violence and population dis-
placement. The Lebanese civil war, which lasted from
1975 to 1990, left more than 144,000 dead, 184,000
wounded, and at least 17,000 still missing (Ghosn &
Khoury, 2013). Moreover, nearly 175 towns were par-
tially or completely destroyed and more than 30% of the
population (i.e. 1.2 million) were uprooted from their
homes (Charif, 1994).
Between 1990 and 2005, most of Lebanon’s domes-
tic and foreign policy decisionmaking was in the hands
of the Syrian civilian and military apparatus in Leba-
non. Despite the fact civil war did not recur, there were
several assassinations, assassination attempts, and dis-
appearances during this period (Knudsen, 2010). The
presence of the Syrian military for 25 years in the coun-
try left many Lebanese with negative feelings towards
their Arab neighbor. As a result, Lebanon’s relationship
with Syria in the context of the current Syrian civil war
is a hotly contested issue in Lebanese foreign policy
(Ghosn, 2016).
Since the escalation to civil war in Syria in 2012,
Lebanon received and hosts more than one million Syr-
ian refugees. In addition, Lebanon hosts 40,000 Iraqi
refugees and 400,000 Palestinian refugees.
1
This means
Lebanon has the highest per-capita concentration of
1
http://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/
FMRpdfs/Iraq/15.pdf.
Ghosn et al. 119
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