This meeting will feature Professor Rui Carvalho (CES-Coimbra) as speaker and Professor Jorge Malheiros (IGOT-Lisbon) as moderator. The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will be held in room A202 of Building 4 at Iscte.

Summary 

European countries have received a growing number of international migrants in recent years. In this context, there has also been a progressive politicization of immigration and an increase in negative attitudes toward immigration and immigrants in these countries. Portugal is no exception to these trends. This paper reports the results of a study on attitudes toward immigration and immigrants in three fishing communities in Portugal, all of which have received significant contingents of immigrants in recent years. According to existing theories, these communities should be characterized by strong opposition to immigration and immigrants (e.g., economically disadvantaged; characterized by strong community ties; and traditionalist values), particularly toward immigrants mostly originating from Southeast Asia (e.g., strong racial, religious, and linguistic differences in relation to native communities). However, contrary to these expectations, public opinion—including within the fishing sector—toward these immigrants has been:(a) predominantly positive, and (b) marked by significant variation across host fishing communities. Using several qualitative methods, including comparative fieldwork in three fishing communities with different trajectories, it was possible to identify three explanatory factors for these results. First, the existence (or lack) of a local organizational fabric with strong mobilizing capacity in favor of incorporating these migrants into the activity spaces of local populations. Second, the dynamics and patterns of integration, as opposed to residential and activity-space segregation (e.g., professional, community) of these migrants. Third, and partly as a consequence of the previous factors, the existence of opportunities for establishing (positive) interethnic contact between immigrants and the local native population. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for theories and policies regarding attitudes toward immigration and immigrants in Europe.