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Since 2015, refugee numbers in Europe have risen to an all-time high. Despite the desperate conditions of most refugees, many European countries have been reluctant to accept them. We investigate how refugees are received in five European countries (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Turkey) and the perceptions of the general population on these refugees. Our data were collected through face-to-face interviews (N = 2,649) in Turkey and an online survey (N = 6,000) in Western Europe. Our findings indicate that positive socio-economic conditions are related to more positive attitudes at the country level, whereas a high number of refugees are related to more negative attitudes. On the individual level, we find that attitudes are shaped by economic class, religiosity, religious piety, and settlement conditionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constructs and tests the building of social capital and integration among Turkish minorities (n = 967) residing in three countries with different integration policy realities according to the Migrant Integration Policy Index for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Through online and offline surveys, the study examines the extent to which bridging and bonding social capital, the dominant language of media use, and the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents affect their degree of integration. The results show that the degree of integration increases with a sense of belonging to a faith, length of stay in Europe, exposure to European mainstream media, and through bridging with natives in the host society. Integration levels decrease, however, with the retention of Turkish citizenship. The degree of integration among the Turkish diaspora varies widely across the three countries under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]