Italians’ attitudes towards non-EU immigration (1991)

Are the Italians racist? It is precisely this accusation that represents the leitmotif, the Ariadne’s thread of the research entitled “L’atteggiamento degli italiani nei confronti dell’immigrazione noncomunitaria” (Italians’ attitudes towards non-EU immigration), The study aims to define through scientific criteria the validity of an attitude that, if real, would be shameful, especially for a population that has lost its poorest and least guaranteed children all over the world, from Australia to Argentina, from the United States of America to northern and developed Europe.
Today, in the face of a dynamic that moves millions of individuals from South to North, there is a pressing need for an in-depth reflection that avoids mass media sensationalism and brings the study of the immigration phenomenon and, above all, the reactions of Italians, back into the domain of statistical and sociological analysis. In this regard, Eurispes has dedicated numerous moments of reflection to the issue of immigration, to which this research is complementary. Our hope is, on the one hand, to be able to provide the press and institutions with the necessary elements and information for a more in-depth and correct study of the phenomenon, and on the other hand, to be able to contribute to finally dispelling the perception that Italians are racist.