SGER: Liberal Democracy Under Pressure

穆斯林移民社区的包容性可以说是西欧自由民主国家面临的最严峻的政治挑战。大量研究文献探讨了这一挑战的一个方面-激进右翼政党的兴起（例如，Stubager 2008; Green-Pederson and Odmalm 2008; Bjørklund and Andersen; Togeby 1998）。 一个新兴的文献正在记录另一个层面-文化规范的冲突（例如，Sniderman和Hagendoorn 2007）。这个项目探讨了所有潜在的最深的紧张关系-一方面是自由民主的规范，另一方面是宗教包容的要求。丹麦的“卡通危机”是自由民主的价值观和穆斯林信仰的荣誉之间紧张关系的最戏剧性的例子之一。因此，丹麦是本研究的重点。但其研究结果与西欧的自由民主国家有着广泛的相关性。本探索性研究集中在两个问题上。首先，价值观冲突的激烈冲突是否会增加民众对穆斯林移民的不容忍？第二，大众舆论是否对精英干预民主价值观的支持作出反应？对这些问题的回答将有助于阐明政治领导人在危机时刻的选择范围。如果对第一个问题的答案是否定的，而对第二个问题的答案是肯定的，那么政治精英就有选择实验性和包容性政策的空间。如果第一个问题的答案是肯定的，而第二个问题的答案是否定的，那么政治精英就没有多少回旋余地，至少在短期内，他们将面临采取“对穆斯林坚韧”政策的压力--例如，提高获得公民身份的标准。对于其实证基础，本研究依赖于三个独立的-但时间上重叠-在教授Lise Togeby的指导下进行的一般公众调查。这组部分重叠的调查提供了一个独特的记录，公众的反应跨越两个不同的时间间隔-当卡通危机是在公众关注的最前沿，当它已经退居幕后。这些调查还包括随机实验，既复制了以前的研究，又以创新的方式扩展了它。

The inclusion of Muslim immigrant communities is arguably the most demanding political challenge facing liberal democracies in Western Europe. A large research literature has addressed one dimension of this challenge -- the rise of radical right parties (e.g., Stubager 2008; Green-Pederson and Odmalm 2008; Bjørklund and Andersen; Togeby 1998). An emerging literature is documenting another dimension - the conflict of cultural norms (e.g., Sniderman and Hagendoorn 2007). This project explores potentially the deepest strain of all - between the norms of liberal democracy on the one side and the requirements of religious inclusion on the other. The Danish "Cartoon Crisis" is one of the most dramatic examples of the strain between the values of liberal democracy and the honor of the Muslim faith. Denmark is accordingly the focus of this study. But its findings have broad relevance to liberal democracies in Western Europe. This exploratory study focuses on two questions. First, does an intense clash over colliding values increase popular intolerance toward Muslim immigrants? Second, is popular opinion responsive to elite interventions in support of democratic values? The answers to these to questions will help illuminate the scope of choices open to political leaders during moments of crisis. If the answer to the first question is no, and the answer to the second yes, political elites have room to chose policies that are experimental and inclusive. If the answer to the first question is yes and the answer to the second is no, political elites have less room to maneuver and will be under, at least in the short run pressure to adopt "tough on Muslim" policies -- for example, making the standards to acquire citizenship more demanding. For its empirical base, this study relies on three separate - but temporally overlapping - surveys of the general public conducted under the direction of Professor Lise Togeby. This set of partly overlapping surveys provides a unique record of public reactions spanning two distinct intervals -- when the Cartoon Crisis was in the forefront of public attention and when it had receded into the background. The surveys also include randomized experiments that both replicate previous research and extend it in innovative ways.