When political rhetoric threatens migrant labor-market integration

This dissertation examines how anti-migrant political rhetoric influences migrant labor-market integration in European Union countries. It argues that exclusionary discourse functions not only as symbolic expression but as a signaling system that reinforces social hierarchies and constrains access to opportunity. Drawing on Cue Theory and Social Dominance Theory (SDT), I develop Rhetorical Hierarchy Signaling Theory (RHST) to conceptualize political speech as a mechanism of symbolic governance that encodes stratification intent. Chapter 2 introduces RHST, identifying four rhetorical mechanisms—dominance, egalitarianism, threat, and blame—and situating them within SDT’s hierarchy- enhancing vs. hierarchy-attenuating framework. Drawing on interviews with Swedish political elites, I show that anti-migrant rhetoric operates across party lines, with even center and center-left actors deploying conditional inclusion frames that normalize exclusionary norms. Chapter 3 traces the diffusion of exclusionary rhetoric using time-series cross-national data from the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP). I find that Center Parties respond more to the rhetorical salience of Radical Right Parties than to their electoral performance, suggesting that discursive adaptation, rather than direct vote competition, drives the spread of exclusionary language. Chapter 4 tests the reception of elite rhetoric using individual-level data from the EUENGAGE survey. Results show that exposure to anti-migrant rhetoric is associated with heightened exclusionary attitudes among both the general public and business elites, indicating that rhetorical signals influence the perceptions and preferences of institutional gatekeepers. Chapter 5 assesses whether exclusionary rhetoric is associated with labor-market integration outcomes for migrants across 19 EU countries (2007–2022). Using fixed- effects regression models with standardized predictors, I find that increases in anti- migrant rhetoric are significantly associated with declines in migrant employment parity, even when controlling for macroeconomic conditions, policy indicators, and demographic variables. viii Taken together, the chapters offer a multi-level account of how anti-migrant rhetoric diffuses across party systems, shapes attitudes among both publics and elites, and correlates with structural exclusion in the labor market. While the study does not claim causality, it demonstrates that rhetorical environments are closely linked to integration outcomes. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on political communication, migration, and social inequality by showing how elite discourse functions as a stratifying force that interacts with institutions to shape the lived experiences of migrants.