Congratulations to Hannah Paul, winner of the Summer Fellowship!聽
With her dissertation,聽Refuge and Representation: Political Attitudes and Behavior of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Germany, Sweden, and the United聽States, Hannah Paul聽engages the political engagement debate by examining how involuntary migrants聽 develop their attitudes about politics and engage in a democratic, representative political system.聽Highest ever levels of refugees and asylum-seekers in the world and advances in data collection provide the unique opportunity to study if and how orientation to democracy 鈥� past experiences of democracy and understanding of democratic principles 鈥� influences political engagement. By leveraging first time exposure to representative democracy, the study lends insight into which of the different explanations for political engagement (material resources, psychological resources, socialization, etc.) are the primary drivers. Additionally, this research informs our understanding of ways to accommodate聽the civic integration of growing forced migrant populations across Europe, the United States and聽other refugee-receiving places.
Ms. Paul will utilize the summer fellowship to write one dissertation聽chapter聽using聽detailed panel survey data on refugees in Germany, which聽allows聽her聽to trace whether聽and how refugees differ from voluntary immigrant-origin individuals and native-born Germans in聽their support for democratic institutions and norms over time.聽