In 2018, Northern Ireland (NI) government officials, journalists, and preliminary research declared that NI citizens had provided a ‘welcoming society’ to Syrian refugees settling in local communities across the country. However, this claim starkly contrasted with other reports of growing violence towards foreign-born groups, particularly Muslims, which lead to NI being identified as the ‘Race Hate Capital of Europe.’ Using the 2015 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT), we problematize and empirically-test these initial conclusions about NI attitudes towards Syrian refugees by testing four prominent social theories. We first examine whether economic self-interest and social exposure (i.e., contact hypothesis) predict NI attitudes towards Syrian refugees. We also recognize NI's unique conflictual ethnic history by testing whether cultural marginality and ethnic competition theories further explain attitudes. The findings suggest that multiple theories explain NI citizen views towards Syrians. Results provide partial support for economic self-interests and direct and preferential social exposure as predictors. However, when considering racism and sectarianism measures, the results require a nuanced understanding of the context of NI people’s attitudes. We found that identity politics related to NI's citizens' religious and nationalist identity encouraged racist and sectarian disapproval of Syrian refugee resettlement. These findings provide a promising avenue of study in understanding how ethno-identities shape attitudes towards Syrian refugees and other foreign-born groups living in NI. However, we contend more granular research will be needed to highlight these nuances.

中文翻译：

---

难民真的受欢迎吗？了解北爱尔兰对叙利亚难民的态度

2018 年，北爱尔兰 (NI) 政府官员、记者和初步研究报告称，北爱尔兰公民为定居在全国各地当地社区的叙利亚难民提供了一个“友好的社会”。然而，这一说法与其他有关针对外国出生群体，特别是穆斯林的暴力行为日益增多的报道形成鲜明对比，这导致 NI 被认定为“欧洲种族仇恨之都”。使用 2015 年北爱尔兰生活和时代调查 (NILT)，我们通过测试四种著名的社会理论，对这些关于 NI 对叙利亚难民态度的初步结论进行问题化和实证检验。我们首先检查经济自身利益和社会暴露（即接触假设）是否可以预测 NI 对叙利亚难民的态度。我们也认可 NI' 通过检验文化边缘性和种族竞争理论是否进一步解释了态度，来分析独特的冲突民族历史。研究结果表明，多种理论解释了 NI 公民对叙利亚人的看法。结果为经济自身利益和直接和优先的社会暴露作为预测因素提供了部分支持。然而，在考虑种族主义和宗派主义措施时，结果需要对 NI 人态度的背景进行细致入微的理解。我们发现，与 NI 公民的宗教和民族主义身份相关的身份政治助长了种族主义和宗派对叙利亚难民安置的反对。这些发现为了解民族身份如何塑造对叙利亚难民和其他居住在北爱尔兰的外国出生群体的态度提供了一条有希望的研究途径。然而，