Leaders’ approval ratings provide a continuing referendum on their actions, conditioning future decision-making. Despite consensus on the drivers and cyclical dynamics of approval of executives in normal times, research on public response to leader performance during crises remains scattershot and incomplete. Seeking a more general theory, we argue that mass publics exhibit an initial, affective response to crisis threats that results in a rally of executive support, especially when the threat is perceived as external.

Immigration is a major political issue across Western Europe and North America, and has received considerable attention from the media and from scholars. However, much of that attention is focused on analyzing opposition to immigration. We know much less about the people who support immigration. In this book, I correct that oversight, and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of immigration preferences. I probe diversity among the people who support immigration, as well as their reasons for supporting immigration.