The Paradox of Threat: Vernacular Security Governance Among Jewish and Muslim Minorities in Four European States

How do religious minorities proactively manage their safety amid global crises and local hostility? This article examines these dynamics, conceptualized as “vernacular security governance,” among Jewish and Muslim populations in four European states. Employing a convergent parallel mixed‐methods design that combines an online survey of 3598 respondents fielded between November and December 2024 with 55 semi‐structured interviews and five focus groups conducted between October 2023 and April 2024, we explore how lived experiences are shaped by racialized securitization, transnational geopolitics, and strategic agency. The two strands span the acute opening and sustained phases of the Israel–Gaza war, allowing us to read short‐term shock against longer term reconfiguration of community–state relations. We find that non‐Christian religious minority status and the perceived impact of the Gaza conflict strongly predict negative community relations, with minority status increasing the odds of feeling targeted by hate crimes by 35%. Conversely, a “paradox of threat” emerges: Heightened threat perceptions correlate with more positive institutional relations. This suggests vulnerable groups undertake strategic bridge‐building with authorities as a vital security measure, actively negotiating their resilience.