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Outside Justice pp 201–222Cite as

Exploring the Applicability of Group Threat Theory in Respect of Majority Group Support for Punitive Criminal Justice Policy in the Context of Large-Scale Immigration in the United States and Germany

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Abstract

Over the last 30–40 years, an increasingly negative discourse around the desirability and consequences of large-scale immigration has developed in the United States and many countries of Western Europe. Over the same period, popular attitudes have become more punitive on both sides of the Atlantic.

Is there a relationship between large-scale immigration and popular punitive attitudes and resultant criminal justice policies in many Western democracies? This chapter explores group threat theory to proffer an answer to this question. Group threat theory informs a growing body of research on formal social control and criminal punishment. Majority populations (While the term “majority” population or group is not a very elegant term, they are arguably preferable to “host” “native” and “indigenous” populations often used in the literature. In very few places, for example, do today’s dominant ethnic groups constitute the true original or native/indigenous populations on the territory of the state to which they belong. In the context of this paper, majority population refers to non-Hispanic whites in the USA and the ethnic German population in Germany.), especially those living in areas which experience rapid increases in immigrant populations, tend to associate immigrants with increased economic and political competition and, at times, criminal activity which, in turn, strengthens the former’s support for punitive criminal justice policies.

The chapter, moreover, interrogates immigration trends and policies in the United States and Germany in particular, allowing for some comparative analyses. Factors which undermine effective contact between majority and immigrant populations, including changes in elite opinion among majority populations in both Germany and the United States, are also discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While the term “majority” population or group is not very elegant, it is arguably preferable to “host” “native” and “indigenous” populations often used in the literature. In very few places, for example, do today’s dominant ethnic groups constitute the true original or native/indigenous populations on the territory of the state to which they belong. In the context of this paper, majority population refers to non-Hispanic whites in the USA and the ethnic German population in Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Martin Schönteich

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  1. Martin Schönteich
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Correspondence to Martin Schönteich .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Tenth Ave 899, New York, 10019, New York, USA

    David C Brotherton

  2. , Department of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Tenth Ave 899, New York, 10019, New York, USA

    Daniel L Stageman

  3. , Department of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Tenth Ave 899, New York, 10019, New York, USA

    Shirley P Leyro

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Schönteich, M. (2013). Exploring the Applicability of Group Threat Theory in Respect of Majority Group Support for Punitive Criminal Justice Policy in the Context of Large-Scale Immigration in the United States and Germany. In: Brotherton, D., Stageman, D., Leyro, S. (eds) Outside Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6648-2_11

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