scholarly journals Bridging (Identification) Divides: Ethnic Minority Endorsement of New Diversity Ideologies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Gale ◽  
Kumar Yogeeswaran ◽  
Maykel Verkuyten

In culturally diverse societies, ethnic minorities are faced with the challenge of negotiating between their national and ethnic identification. Diversity ideologies address this challenge in different ways, by prioritizing national identification in the case of assimilation, and ethnic identification in the case of multiculturalism. However, existing research has highlighted the risks and drawbacks of both ideologies, presenting polyculturalism and interculturalism as new alternatives which construe identities as more complex, dynamic, and interconnected between groups. Given that little is known about these ideologies from the minority perspective, the present study investigated their endorsement among ethnic minorities, as well as associations with their ethnic and national identification in the USA. Results show that, in general, pro-diversity ideologies (multiculturalism, interculturalism, and polyculturalism) are all supported by ethnic minorities, in contrast to assimilation. Moreover, ethnic identification is associated with support for multiculturalism, national identification is associated with support for assimilation, and both are associated with polyculturalism. For interculturalism, associations with ethnic and national identification depend on its subcomponents, which seem to address and bring together the other three ideologies. Interculturalism may therefore be a promising way forward to minimize the risks of assimilation, multiculturalism, and polyculturalism, while also maximizing their benefits to minorities and societies at large.

10.1068/d347t ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wun Fung Chan

To counter accusations that ethnic minorities in Britain are a problem, there is an emerging discourse that has begun to celebrate diversity as an asset, which contributes towards the nation's cultural and economic vitality. However, although this reevaluation of ethnic differences has proved to be a useful defence of the presence of ethnic minorities, the types of contributions and their significance have been left unexplored. In this paper I closely examine one such contribution, a Chinese pagoda, which was given to the City of Birmingham by an ethnic entrepreneur. By carefully analysing the views of the gift giver, planning documents, and public discourse on the pagoda, I argue that the different narratives—which encompass the themes of representing an ethnic community, hospitality, and gift giving—are discontinuous. In doing so, I illustrate some of the limits to Birmingham's hospitality and mark out a series of informal obligations of citizenship that are written into Birmingham's public space. I conclude by suggesting that if a gift of hospitality is to be given it is necessary to consider the other of the ethnic minority as an asset, citizenship, and presence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolien Galle ◽  
Fenella Fleischmann

According to liberal nationalists, sharing a national identity offers a solution to the growing concern that increasing diversity within Western societies might erode solidarity. Based on the national identity framework, a positive relation between peoples’ support for redistribution and their national identification is expected. Partially confirmed among majority group members, the aim of this study is to broaden the perspective and investigate the redistributive attitudes of people with a migration background. Since the social identification of people with a migration background is more complex and tends to be based on belonging to both the nation of residence and a specific ethnic group, we additionally consider the role of ethnic identification. We perform multivariate analyses on data from the Belgian Ethnic Minorities Election Study 2014 (BEMES), a survey conducted among Belgians of Turkish and Moroccan descent. The results confirm our hypothesis about the positive role of national identification. Ethnic identification, on the contrary, is negatively related to support for redistribution and particularly the combination of a low attachment to the country of residence and strong attachment to the country of origin is associated with lower levels of support for redistribution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-280
Author(s):  
Giorgi Bobghiashvili ◽  
Graham Donnelly

Georgia is the most ethnically diverse state in the South Caucasus. Since independence, it has been blighted by violent secessionism and Russian invasion, the roots of which are invariably described as having stemmed from this diversity; the lack of integration of its ethnic minorities; and the recurrent failures of Georgian governments to adequately balance the nationalizing tendencies of constructing a newly independent state on the one hand and the needs and desires of its multinational citizenry on the other. In the first part of this report, we look at the roots of the present minority situation in Georgia, noting the main minority groups and the issues concerning them, before moving on in the second part to consider the issue of minority governance. We also provide a review of the most significant developments in 2014–2015 before commenting on the prospects for the coming year.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-107
Author(s):  
Andreas Juon

Ethnic power-sharing has been accused of decreasing ethnic inequality in unequal ways: while benefitting larger ethnic minorities, it often tends to overlook the smallest groups. Paradoxically, ethnic micro-minorities may thus find themselves in even more marginalised positions in power-sharing regimes than under institutional settings lacking any mandated inclusion. This article tests for the existence of this exclusion-amid-inclusion dilemma using a new group-based dataset that distinguishes between different types of power-sharing. The findings indicate that this dilemma indeed exists for ethnically based, but not for more liberal types of power-sharing, which increase all minorities’ political status in an equal, albeit less strong, manner. The article concludes that adopting one form of power-sharing or the other means not only prioritising one form of equality over another, but also making a decision with severe political ramifications for the numerically most vulnerable ethnic minority communities.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sune Qvotrup Jensen

The article examines the potentials of the concept of othering to describe identity formation among ethnic minorities. First, it outlines the history of the concept, its contemporary use, as well as some criticisms. Then it is argued that young ethnic minority men in Denmark are subject to intersectional othering, which contains elements of exoticist fascination of the other. On the basis of ethnographic material, it is analysed how young marginalized ethnic minority men react to othering. Two types of reactions are illustrated: 1) capitalization on being positioned as the other, and 2) refusing to occupy the position of the other by disidentification and claims to normality. Finally, it is argued that the concept of othering is well suited for understanding the power structures as well as the historic symbolic meanings conditioning such identity formation, but problematic in terms of agency.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-394
Author(s):  
Krisztina Rácz

This article discusses theories of multiculturalism and ethnicity in light of the ethnic identification of minority youth. Namely, even though the primordialism vs. constructivism debate has led to an agreement about seeing ethnic identities as situational and strategic, often for members of ethnic minorities, including young people living in multiethnic environments, ethnic identities seem stable and salient. Relying on the case study of young Hungarian people in Serbia, the article argues that it is the minority status and the institutional setup building on ethnic divisions as the main social frame that make ethnic identities marked. Therefore I connect the case of Vojvodina Hungarian youth to more general debates on the multiethnicy, ethnic belonging and minority status.


Author(s):  
Nguyen Duy Dung

New rural construction is one of the key tasks identified by the Party and State as the national target program until 2020. Many documents of the Party and the State have been issued expressing political will to implement the tasks of building new rural areas, over 6 years of implementation, the National Target Program for new rural construction has achieved certain achievements, the appearance of rural areas of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas has gradually changed dramatically, contributing significantly to promoting socio-economic and cultural development. Many provinces and cities throughout the whole country have built some new rural models that meet nineteen criterias and arrive on time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngo Quang Son ◽  
Nguyen Thi Phuong

Traditional culture of ethnic minorities is the material and spiritual values that are accumulated and preservedin the whole history of ethnic minority development. In thatcommon cultural flow, every ethnic minorities group in ourcountry has its own characteristics in traditional culture.That identity is expressed firstly in language. Language is animportant element of the ethnic minorities character, therefore,the loss of language is the loss of a great asset, thereby leadingto the erasure of art literature, religious beliefs and the custom,customary law.Therefore, in the context of modern life, preserving andpromoting the cultural and linguistic identity of ethnicminorities is an urgent task. In particular, pay specialattention to the method of cultural preservation through thedevelopment of Information, Education and CommunicationModel in ethnic minorities languages in schools and localcommunities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu Thi Thu Trang

Through survey results on the status of management of life skills education activities to cope with climate change and disaster prevention for the sustainable development of local communities in the ethnic minority boarding high schools in the Northwestern region from 2013 to 2018, the author deeply analyzed and assessed the strengths, weaknesses, causes of strengths and weaknesses of the management of education activities on life skills to cope with climate change and disaster prevention for the sustainable development of local communities for ethnic minority students at boarding high schools for ethnic minorities in the Northwestern region in the present period and the issues raised.


Author(s):  
Le Thi Hao ◽  
Nguyen Thi Huong

Despite of a small proportion, human resources of ethnic minority with sparse population plays a great role in the process of national construction and defense.It is an important factor in preservation and promotion of ethnic group’s specific culture and identity; contribution of the industrialization, modernization and international integration of the country. However, the human resources of ethnic minority with sparse population is inadequate and limited. Thus, solutions to reduce these shortcomings are required to focus on implementing.


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