"Has the Covid-19 pandemic led to reduced support for diversity? Experimental evidence from German cities"

⧉ Link to Universität Göttingen

This talk presents first results of a survey conducted in the past few months in German cities. We will show whether worries that the current pandemic has led to scape-goating and that racism may have increased are justified. Our data provide a so-far unparalleled opportunity to empirically test such assumptions.

These results stem from an ongoing study at the MPI entitled “Diversity Assent in Urban Germany (DivA)”. Two core motivations underlie that project. First, in a previous large-scale project, “Diversity and Contact”, we found that around 2010 diversity had become an everyday normality in German cities. Is this still true? Or have, as many observers fear, conflicts around refugee immigration and the rise of an extreme right undermined the overwhelmingly positive perception of socio-demographic diversity? Second, we believe that so far we insufficiently understand what motivates those who oppose right-wing positions and appreciate diversity, and aim to deepen our understanding of the structures and motivations of positive stances towards socio-demographic diversity. In the talk, we will outline how we approach these questions and present empirical results on a potential Corona-effect on attitudes to diversity.

Steven Vertovec is director at the Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and honorary professor at Göttingen University. Lucas Drouhot is a post-doctoral researcher at the MPI. Karen Schönwälder is a research-group leader at the MPI and affiliated professor at Göttingen University.