The Struggle for Power: Attitudes towards the political participation of ethnic minorities

Abstract

Western countries are facing unprecedented demographic and socio-political challenges due to increased international migration and shrinking majority populations. One such challenge is how different ethnic groups respond to each other’s political participation – something that is crucial for the development of equal, just and peaceful societies. Minority members help set the political agenda, shape public policy, and contribute to the overall legitimacy of the political system. Yet, they are often met with controversy and resistance when they wish to partake in the political system. This dissertation, therefore, aims to explain negative attitudes towards immigrant-origin minority groups (specifically focusing on Muslims) and their political participation. The book presents seven empirical studies that take different theoretical perspectives and employ some innovative methodological approaches. Some studies take the perspective of the majority group: they examine how majority members respond to the growing numerical influence of ethnic minority groups. They investigate the extent to which negative out-group attitudes can be explained by majority members’ justification of their socially dominant position in society, on the one hand, and by investigating how majority members respond to minorities’ wishes to participate in the political system of the country, on the other. Other studies take the perspective of minority groups and examine how immigrant-origin groups respond to each other, within the social and within the political domain. The results show that majority group members react negatively to Muslims voicing an interest in politics, because they feel like their dominant position in society is threatened. Even the mere mentioning of political participation leads to increased negative attitudes among majority members, regardless of how minorities would participate or whose interests they would advocate for. Those findings are worrisome because an unwillingness to politically accommodate ethnic minority groups, whether voiced as ‘simple’ skepticism or blatant rejection, could effectively hinder the integration process; worsen the disadvantaged structural conditions that minorities face; and, in a worst-case scenario, could undermine the functioning of democracy as a whole. Ethnic minority members, too, are hesitant to welcome each other into the political arena. Rather than confronting the dominant majority group as a unified coalition, minorities tend to view each other as competitors over political influence. However, among minorities, political power held by one group is not necessarily perceived as threatening to the position of the other. Based on the results, the author recommends that parents, teachers, policy makers and politicians take up a more active role in constructing an inclusive national narrative that goes beyond merely granting out-group members the right and opportunity to participate, but emphasizes the idea that any citizen is welcome to participate in the democratic process, regardless of their cultural heritage, place of birth, religion, or political ideology. While this dissertation broadens the scope of traditional socio-political research, it also shows that additional research and political action are required if we are to prevent further ethnic tensions.