The Ideology of Integration: An examination of the New Zealand and Ireland case studies

<p>The study of integration policy is of particular relevance in an increasingly globalised world, since integration policy was shown to be important to the maintenance of social cohesion of immigrant receiving host societies (Papillon 2002, p. iii, Schugurensky 2003, pp.11-12, Friessen 2003, pp.187-191). This thesis sought to examine the fit of two explanatory theoretical models in explaining integration policy outcomes in two case study states, Ireland and New Zealand, during the period 1995-2006. More specifically, the thesis tried to determine whether the influence of the model of national membership adopted in each study case (civic membership in the New Zealand case and ethno cultural membership in the case of the Republic of Ireland) was able to anticipate the correct outcomes with regard to integration policies adopted during the study period, or whether political party positioning on socio economic lines was more important in anticipating integration policy outcomes. This assessment was conduct in light of apparent ‘fit’ of the respective theoretical models in each study case to integration policies enacted during the study period, in order to determine whether the theories that seem to fit the best anticipate the correct outcomes in each study case. This was a salient question in light of the dichotomy in integration policy approaches in the two study states. Notwithstanding that both New Zealand and Ireland were immigrant receiving states during the study period, there was a marked difference between New Zealand’s approach to integration policy formulation and that of Ireland. New Zealand’s approach to integration policy was well structured and became more developed, while Ireland did not have a cohesive integration policy during the study period, relying instead on a reactionary approach composed of a collection of policy statements and ‘ad hoc’, reactionary policies. As noted briefly above, the two theoretical models that were assessed for fit against outcomes in integration policies in the study states were the Brubaker theory of membership and the theory of political party positioning along the socio-economic left/right axis. The Brubaker theory suggests that integration policies are the outcome of national membership models (i.e. a civic or ethno cultural conception of national belonging), whilst the theory of party positioning along socio-economic lines suggests that integration policies are based on the influence of socio economic political party ideology. An investigation was made of the fit of the Brubaker membership models against that of the socio economic political ideology models in predicting integration policy outcomes in each respective case study. In addition, an examination of the interaction between the two explanatory theories was conducted, and an assessment made of whether this interaction had an impact on integration policy formulation. In exploring the interaction between two competing explanations for integration policy outcomes, this thesis aimed to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding for the reasons of the divergence in the approach to integration policy in the two case study states, and also a better understanding of the factors impacting on integration policy in general.</p>

The Ideology of Integration: An examination of the New Zealand and Ireland case studies

<p>The study of integration policy is of particular relevance in an increasingly globalised world, since integration policy was shown to be important to the maintenance of social cohesion of immigrant receiving host societies (Papillon 2002, p. iii, Schugurensky 2003, pp.11-12, Friessen 2003, pp.187-191). This thesis sought to examine the fit of two explanatory theoretical models in explaining integration policy outcomes in two case study states, Ireland and New Zealand, during the period 1995-2006. More specifically, the thesis tried to determine whether the influence of the model of national membership adopted in each study case (civic membership in the New Zealand case and ethno cultural membership in the case of the Republic of Ireland) was able to anticipate the correct outcomes with regard to integration policies adopted during the study period, or whether political party positioning on socio economic lines was more important in anticipating integration policy outcomes. This assessment was conduct in light of apparent ‘fit’ of the respective theoretical models in each study case to integration policies enacted during the study period, in order to determine whether the theories that seem to fit the best anticipate the correct outcomes in each study case. This was a salient question in light of the dichotomy in integration policy approaches in the two study states. Notwithstanding that both New Zealand and Ireland were immigrant receiving states during the study period, there was a marked difference between New Zealand’s approach to integration policy formulation and that of Ireland. New Zealand’s approach to integration policy was well structured and became more developed, while Ireland did not have a cohesive integration policy during the study period, relying instead on a reactionary approach composed of a collection of policy statements and ‘ad hoc’, reactionary policies. As noted briefly above, the two theoretical models that were assessed for fit against outcomes in integration policies in the study states were the Brubaker theory of membership and the theory of political party positioning along the socio-economic left/right axis. The Brubaker theory suggests that integration policies are the outcome of national membership models (i.e. a civic or ethno cultural conception of national belonging), whilst the theory of party positioning along socio-economic lines suggests that integration policies are based on the influence of socio economic political party ideology. An investigation was made of the fit of the Brubaker membership models against that of the socio economic political ideology models in predicting integration policy outcomes in each respective case study. In addition, an examination of the interaction between the two explanatory theories was conducted, and an assessment made of whether this interaction had an impact on integration policy formulation. In exploring the interaction between two competing explanations for integration policy outcomes, this thesis aimed to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding for the reasons of the divergence in the approach to integration policy in the two case study states, and also a better understanding of the factors impacting on integration policy in general.</p>

The Role of Actual Democracy in the Link between National Identity and Support for Democracy

This article analyzes the interplay between national identity and democracy. Multilevel models were tested using European Value Survey (EVS 2017), which includes 30 countries in total. On the individual level, emphasis on non-voluntary features of national identity, where national membership depends on the accident of origin, relates to lower support for democracy. At the country level, the level of actual democracy was taken in to account (Varieties of Democracy 2017). In general, higher levels of actual democracy correlate with stronger support for the ideal democracy, yet, a high level of actual democracy amplifies the negative relationship between non-voluntary national identity and support for democracy.

National identity, cosmopolitanism, and attitudes toward immigrants

This study examines the effects of national and cosmopolitan self-identity on xenophobic attitudes across 33 countries with a multilevel analysis of data from the National Identity Module III of the International Social Survey Programme. Of primary interest is how country contexts are intertwined with the sense of national belonging to predict individuals’ anti-immigrant attitudes. The study finds that individuals with a stronger ethnicity-based national identity tend to evidence stronger xenophobia. Net of the individual-level effect of ethnic national identity, citizens of countries with a higher average of ethnic national identity also tend to be more xenophobic. Interestingly, the link between ethnic national identity and xenophobia is stronger in countries where this perspective is not shared as strongly. In the seemingly more ‘open’ country context, individuals’ belief in the requirement of ancestral roots for national membership may entail stronger exclusivism as a fringe ideology.

Critical global citizenship

This introductory paper to our first issue provides reflection on the concept of critical global citizenship at both theoretical and practical levels. We maintain that ‘citizenship’, irrespective of its level of articulation (i.e. national, international, global, etc.) remains an issue that reflects a status, a feeling and practices that are intrinsically interlinked. As a legal status, formal citizenship allows individuals to form a sense of belonging within a political community and, therefore, empowers them to act and perform their citizenship within the spatial domains of the nation-state. Critical global citizenship, asks these same individuals not so much to neglect these notions of belonging and practice to a particular locale, but to extend such affinities beyond the territorial boundaries of their formal national membership and to think critically and ethically about their local, national and global relationship with those who are different from themselves. Making a case for a critical global citizenship, however, also requires acknowledging material inequalities that affect the most vulnerable (i.e. migrants, asylum seekers, those experiencing poverty, etc.) and which mean that efforts to cultivate global citizenship orientations to address social injustice are not enacted on an even playing field. As such, a critical global citizenship approach espouses a performative citizenship that is at once democratic and ethical, as well as being aimed at achieving social peace and sustainable justice, but which is also affected by material conditions of inequality that require political solutions and commitment from individuals, states, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations.1 1 This article is based on F. Mansouri (2014), ‘The Global Citizenship Project: From Words to Action’, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. © UNESCO, Paris

Against National Sovereignty: The Postcolonial New World Order and the Containment of Decolonization

In this paper, I examine the growing reliance on discourses of autochthony in nationalisms throughout the world. Native-ness (or indigeneity) is increasingly being made a key criterion for claiming national sovereignty over territory, as well as the more amorphous – but no less consequential – claim to national membership. By examining the crucial colonial genealogy of autochthonous discursive practices, I argue that claims to autochthony are metaphysical and, as such, deeply depoliticizing of the exclusions they produce. Drawing upon historical studies showing how imperial-states deployed autocthonous discourses to divide those they categorized as Natives and Migrants from one another in an effort to maintain their imperial rule, I show the continuities of such practices in the Postcolonial New World Order of nation-states. Despite their rhetoric, I argue that contemporary, nationalist discourses of autochthonies have not – and cannot – succeed in realizing decolonization, precisely because of their reliance on modes of political, economic, and social exclusion based on the separation of people categorized as either Native-Nationals or as Migrants. The material force of ideas of Native-Nationalism(s), because they are premised on territorial sovereignty and not on the end of practices of expropriation and exploitation across the planet, are part of the worldwide relations of ruling and not threats to it.

White Identity and Ethno-Traditional Nationalism in Trump’s America

As the white share of America continues to decline, white identity is becoming more important for politics. I show that white identity is considerably stronger among whites who are attached to their ancestry, i.e. Irish, ‘American’ or Italian. Accordingly, we should see it as more reflective of cultural attachment than a desire for politico-economic advantage. In addition, a separate dynamic I term ethno-traditional American nationalism, is important. This is not white nationalism, but a form of American national identity in which ethnocultural elements form an important part but do not, like the American accent, form a condition of equal national membership. Ethno-traditional nationalism is about the ‘what is American’ question of symbolic attachment, rather than the ‘who is American’ question of which groups belong and are excluded, that has received the lion’s share of academic attention.

Conceptions of National Identity and Ambivalence towards Immigration

National identities are often conceived of as factors that lend structure and stability to citizens’ political opinions on issues such as immigration. While citizens who define national membership in ethno-cultural terms are less likely to support immigration, those with a civic conception are more likely to do so. The authors propose that defining national identity along both ethno-cultural and civic lines may give rise to conflicting considerations, leading people to experience ambivalence, implying that national identities may serve less as a stabilizing force than suggested by previous research. Findings from heterogeneous choice models and a unique survey experiment show that German citizens with mixed conceptions of national identity had more variable and more malleable opinions than individuals with ideal-type conceptions during the 2015/2016 European refugee crisis. The findings point to an identity-based source of ambivalence and extend current understandings of how people form attitudes towards immigration.