Social Identities and Political Participation of Immigrants and Their Descendants in Europe

Sarah Christison , University of St Andrews
Hill Kulu, University of St Andrews

Public engagement, participation and trust are key tenets of a healthy democracy, with members of society feeling they have power to influence the political decision making through democratic processes. As a result of migration, many European countries have experienced an increase in social and cultural heterogeneity; feelings of belonging and willingness to engage politically are therefore particularly important when understanding the factors which drive social cohesion and create robust democratic systems. We study migrants and their descendants to better understand wider trends and patterns in their cultural, social and political identities, and political participation in European societies; determine factors that promote or hinder migrant inclusion, social integration and cohesion, and develop policies to support heterogeneous population groups in our societies. We use data from the European Social Survey (ESS) to explore feelings of trust in political bodies and processes, and political engagement through formal and informal participation, comparing natives, immigrants (1G) and their descendants (2G). Results suggest that immigrants are more satisfied with democracy than the native population and express higher trust in a country’s parliament. However, immigrants’ higher satisfaction with democracy and trust in government do not translate into their voting behaviour or informal political engagement. These findings suggest some degree of disenfranchisement among migrants which may be due to personal perceptions of their ability or right to participate, or due to structural barriers which inhibit participation for some migrant groups.

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 Presented in Session P4. Migration, Migrants, and Mobility