Project Aim
The objective of CHACE is to compare histories of antisemitism in post-Cold War Europe, charting its trajectories and explaining temporal and geographical variation in its prevalence and intensity.
The project asks two key questions:
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What characterizes the diverging paths of post-Cold War antisemitism in Europe?
- Why has antisemitism come to afflict some countries more than others, as demonstrated by the varying degrees of anti-Jewish attitudes, variation in the incidence and intensity of antisemitic attacks, and differences in the levels of concern expressed by Jews?
Project Background
The resurgence of antisemitism in recent decades has raised questions about Western societies’ ability to provide a secure environment for their Jewish minorities. Many Jews have expressed doubt about their future on the European continent, as evidenced by a 2018 survey covering 16,500 respondents in 12 EU countries—among them, 38 percent said they had considered emigrating because of safety concerns.
Antisemitism is not affecting all European countries equally, however, nor is it being expressed or experienced the same way in all places.
Understanding these divergences is a major scientific challenge. To understand variation in contemporary antisemitism, comparative work is indispensable. The lack of comparative-historical studies is a shortcoming in current research, which typically focuses on one particular country, one particular religious/ideological group, or one particular kind of antisemitic manifestation (e.g., attitudes or violence).
Project Approach
To fill this gap, CHACE employs a broad-ranging comparative approach (combining comparative history and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)) in order to account for the diverging paths and impacts of post-Cold War antisemitism in Europe.
