The origins of social intolerance rise in Europe, from a sidelined minority social issue to a major problem is directly linked to a number of crisis’s and social changes that occurred both in Europe and the rest of the world over the past 70 years.
Social intolerance has and always will be present in any society. For Europe, it was 4 key events/crisis’s over the past 18 years that moved social intolerance, from the outskirts of European society, into the more central position it holds today. (UNESCO, 1995)
These 4 key events and crisis’ are:
- 2008 Economic crisis
- Social Media populism
- 2015 Refugee crisis
- The Pandemic, populism and the far-right
Before looking into these 4 events and crises, this article will provide a brief review of social intolerance from post-World War II Europe to 2008.
Social intolerance before 2008
Social intolerance, although for some years on the decline, has always been present in Europe. In the aftermath of World War II, Europe faced the reality of the fascism, genocide and extreme nationalism legacy. (Arihant Institute).
It also faced a Europe divided between Westernism and Sovietism, as well as ‘non-aligned nations’[1] such as Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland etc. Many countries embraced democracy and social reforms, especially when facing their role in fascism. Whereas other states, continued its legacy, with many minority groups (i.e. Jews, Roma, Political dissidents) experiencing discrimination and abuse throughout Europe during these years.
From the 1950s onwards due to the post-war economic boom, there was an increased need for workers in many Western European countries, resulting in mass migration from Turkey, Southern Europe and former colonies, such as from Asia and North Africa.(Plenković, 2022: 145–147).
These communities often faced different forms of xenophobia and social exclusion, even in countries focused on ensuring that extreme nationalism never returned again. In the 1970s, with the economic issues connected to the oil crises and high unemployment, anti-migrant feelings resulted in the growth of far-right movements.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, social intolerance increased, specifically in former-Yugoslavia, where ethnic tensions had been present throughout its existence and were widened with the death of Josip Broz Tito in 1980.
With the collapse of Yugoslavia, ethnic conflict was triggered, resulting in mass displacement and all out war in some ex-Yugoslavian states, specifically in Bosnia-Herzegovina, causing in the worst genocide in Europe since WWII.
While in Western Europe, Islamic extremism, plus acts of terrorism-initiated Islamophobia as well as opening the debate on multiculturalism. Whereas Eastern European states, especially those transitioning from authoritarianism to democracy, also experienced increased antisemitism, anti-Roma sentiment and hostility toward the LGBTQ+ communities in their countries.
In the early 2010s, the first refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and African states arrived in Europe, further testing European social cohesion.
[1] https://fasttrackteaching.com/ffap/Unit_11_Cold_War/U11_Europe_After_WW_II.html
Economic crisis 2008
The 2008 economic crisis in Europe was triggered by the US housing market crash resulting in a global financial breakdown. In the Eurozone, this involved a European-wider sovereign debt crisis that exposed the structural weakness within the EU and neighbouring countries and causing numerous banks and financial institutions to fail.
The EU and EU state leaders organised multiple bank bailouts, resulting in significant public debt. Several EU countries faced significant financial losses, high unemployment rates, fiscal pressures and recessions. EU states: Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Greece and Italy, received EU and IMF bailouts requiring strict austerity measures country-wide, triggering severe cuts to pensions, social services and public spending.
As a result, these economic shock waves intensified social tensions throughout Europe. Mass unemployment, especially amongst the very young in Southern Europe, contributed to citizen declining trust in government and the EU institutions, as well as widening frustrations and insecurity. (PMC Study, 2021: 3–5)
This resulted in widespread protests and civil unrests, with Spain and Greece being particularly affected. Austerity also widened inequality, especially for the most vulnerable groups.
In-turn, these events empowered political divisions with the rise of new political far-right and far-left movements, Euroscepticism, as well as parties anti-the-establishment.
Anti-migration rhetoric and tensions increased as a direct result of the economic hardships caused by the economic crisis, with citizens blaming both internal EU migration and external migration for these economic problems.
Ultimately, the 2008 economic crisis contributed to further social tensions in Europe and re-shared the political landscape offering opportunities to both the far-left and far-right political movements as well as wider extremist parties.
Refugee crisis
The Refugee crisis moved the debate around migration, refugeeism and illegal migration from the periphery to the centre of European policy making and debate.
Pre-2015, the fast majority of people who may justify refugee status in Europe, were so far away from Europe’s border that very often they were an afterthought for everyone but those actually working in the Refugee support sector. (Plenković, 2022: 154–156).
But with the ever growing conflicts close to Europe’s borders (Syrian civil war, rise of ISIS, continued instability in Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea etc.), and the dark entrepreneurial mindset of criminal gangs involved in human trafficking (I write this with tongue in cheek) and the willingness of desperate people to risk their lives by crossing the Mediterranean.
In 2025, we now live in a Europe where it is common to debate the migration and/or the refugee issue together. Unfortunately, too often a ‘Them’ vs ‘Us’ rhetoric plays out. And the term ‘migrant’; ‘refugee’; ‘economic migrants’; ‘illegal migrants’ is merged all into one. This is further exacerbated by the press and news outlets, social media influencers as well as populist politicians.
Too often, behind these debates are a more complex history interlinked with identity, religion and to some extent prevailing intolerance, ignoring modern Europe’s tapestry of diversity and portraying migrants to nothing more than economic burdens or security risks is both misleading and harmful to our society. And migrant/refugee/illegal migrant intolerance is linked to Europe’s ‘the Other’ intolerance history. (Tostes, 2010)
Social Media as a platform for social intolerance
Since entering our lives in 2006 onwards in Europe, when Facebook opened it’s site to everyone, followed shortly by Twitter, social media has enabled society to digitally connect globally. It has also allowed people to share their opinions, as well as everything from photos, videos, thoughts etc. It even kick started the Arab Spring.
On all the positive notes, social media has also become a platform for people to share their intolerances, hate speech and distorted ideas, as well as illegal videos and photos.
It has become a platform for populism to thrive and for governments and third parties to influence our elections and democracies. (PMC Study, 2021: 7–9)
Ultimately, it has allowed ‘netizens’ to share everyone thought whenever and to whoever, including social intolerant thoughts and beliefs.
The Pandemic, populism and the far-right
The pandemic deepened socio-economic and political pressure in Europe, while also creating the right circumstances to broaden social intolerance and contribute to the rise of the far right. The world-wide public health restrictions, lockdowns and the overall effect on the economies created a landscape of uncertainty and frustration amongst Europeans. (PMC Study, 2021: 4–6)
This situation allowed far right movements to exploit this instability by building upon recent populist messages, that European governments were against national identities and freedom of speech, further alienating citizens from state institutions. (PMC Study, 2021: 8)
In addition, the pandemic further accelerated fake news, misinformation, conspiracy theories and anti-establishment rhetoric. This fuelled protests against public health restrictions, wearing facemasks and vaccinations, which in-turn became popular far-right rallying cries, which allowed the far-right to further develop its support base.
While economic insecurities throughout Europe, further increased fear around unemployment, welfare resources and other state services which allowed far-right and populists to blame refugees, migrants and illegal migrants creating further anti-immigrant narratives in Europe.
This increased some citizens believes in the need for exclusionary policies such as cultural and national protection for citizens creating an ‘us vs them’ feeling in some communities.
This eventually led to an increase in social intolerance against minority groups in different European countries, specifically against ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees as well as healthcare workers, who were responsible for implementing public health policy.
Ultimately, the pandemic amplified existing grievances, while increasing distrust of for politicians and experts, while deepening division throughout communities in Europe.
The pandemic strengthened the far-right movements and populist divide and rule ideas, increasing their visibility and influence throughout society.
The Youth for Coexistence programme aims to support youth workers, young leaders and wider educational and civil society organisations to achieve this through a specific coexistence curriculum and a peacebuilding and democracy toolbox, as well as a network for professional to connect and share their experiences and best practices.
Connect with us
The Erasmus+ Youth for Coexistence programme aims to address social intolerance in Europe through developing the skills of youth workers, young leaders and wider educationalists throughout Europe (and beyond) in coexistence methodologies. However, we cannot do this alone. As part of this programme, a new network for the youth and sector, as well as for the wider civic society will be established. And although this is still early days for our programme, we invite all young people, youth workers, educationalists and other members of civic society interested in this agenda, to connect and work with us.
References
UNESCO (1995) Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Website link: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/tolerance [accessed on 12.December 2025]
Arihant Institute (n.d.) Understanding the Menace of Social Intolerance. Arihant Institute of Business Management. Website link: https://www.arihantainstitute.org/blog/40-understanding-the-menace-of-social-intolerance [accessed on 18.December 2025]
Plenković, M. (2022) Analysis of Tolerance in Six European Mediterranean Countries. Društvena istraživanja, 31(3). HRČAK – Portal of Croatian Scientific and Professional Journals. Website link: https://hrcak.srce.hr/289399 [accessed on 07.January 2026]
Tostes, P. (2010) Explaining intolerance in an integrated Europe, Article published in Dados – Revista de Ciências Sociais, 53(1). SciELO Social Sciences. Website link: http://socialsciences.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-52582010000100003 [accessed on 09.January 2026]
Velthuis, E (2021) The Different Faces of Social Tolerance: Conceptualizing and Measuring Respect and Coexistence Tolerance, Article published in Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 8572818. PubMed Central (PMC). Website link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8572818/ [accessed on 14.January 2026]