Suchergebnisse

This research was conducted in an informal school located in Thailand at the border with Myanmar (Burma) and supervised by the Karen National Union (KNU). The KNU has claimed and fought for political autonomy and independence from the Burmese government for more than a half century. The authors examine how, in their narratives about what it means to be Karen, future Karen leaders try to deal with challenges to a sense of Karen unity and "groupness," and to the legitimacy of the Karen struggle. One important challenge is the substantial cultural, religious, linguistic, and geographical internal diversity. Establishing a coherent Karen identity among the different subgroups is a continuing struggle for Karen leaders. Another is the negative labeling of the KNU as stubborn people and violent terrorists. These labels endanger the political project, the international reputation, and the local attractiveness of the KNU.

Orthodoxy and integration among Turkish Dutch Muslims .What is the relationship between religious orthodoxy and psychological, social and political integration of Turkish Dutch Muslims? Orthodox interpretations emphasize that a 'pure' Islam is about essential and inerrant
truths that provide strict guidelines for everyday life. In the present sample, half of respondents reported (very) strong orthodox beliefs. Orthodoxy was higher among younger compared to older respondents and among those who perceived relatively high levels of rejection of Muslims in the
Netherlands. Orthodoxy was negatively associated with national identification but not with national disidentification or with social integration. Orthodoxy was strongly and positively associated with the endorsement of Muslim rights and the attitude towards democratic political organization
of Muslims in the Netherlands. Orthodoxy was not related to political (in)tolerance. Together, the results indicate that orthodox beliefs do not necessarily hamper the integration of Turkish Dutch Muslims.

Affective ratings of multiple religious (sub)groups (Muslims, Christians, Jews, and non-believers, as well as Sunni, Alevi, and Sjiit Muslims), the endorsement of Islamic minority rights and religious group identification were examined among Sunni and Alevi Turkish-Dutch participants. The findings show that both groups differ in important ways. Some Alevi participants considered themselves Muslims but others interpreted Alevi identity in a secular way. The Sunnis were quite negative towards Jews and non-believers, they more strongly endorsed Islamic minority rights and they had very high Muslim group identification. Furthermore, the Sunnis were negative towards Alevis and the Alevis were negative towards the Sunnis. Muslim group identification was positively and strongly related to feelings towards Muslims and to the endorsement of Islamic group rights.

Using a Dutch national sample containing 7,158 respondents, we examined to what extent 1) ethnic background, 2) family characteristics and 3) migrant characteristics are related to ethnic distance, expressed through the intermarriage attitude, of the Dutch majority and four migrant groups: Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antilleans. First, our study showed that large differences in ethnic distance exist between the five ethnic groups. In concordance with notions of group status, the Dutch majority group showed relatively high levels of ethnic distance towards migrants. However, of the five ethnic groups under investigation, Moroccans reported the highest levels of ethnic distance. Second, results show that family cohesion, expressed through the adherence to strict family norms and contacts within the family network, is related to more resistance to ethnic intermarriage. This supports the idea that family cohesion fosters a preference for interactions with culturally similar persons since people from different cultural backgrounds can be seen as threatening the cultural identity and solidarity of one's own group. Traditional family values were related to more resistance, while qualitative good relations related negatively to the resistance to intermarriage. The last finding confirms the notion that affective and warm (family) relations increase tolerance and positive attitudes towards ethnic out-groups. Third, with respect to migrant characteristics, the results indicated that Dutch language proficiency leads to less resistance to ethnic intermarriage, while migration out of family reasons increases the resistance to ethnic intermarriage. No association was found between the intermarriage attitude and generational status or length of stay.

This study examines whether refugees self-identify as a member of the host society. We use survey data of more than 2,500 Somali, Iraqi, Afghani, Iranian, and ex-Yugoslavian refugees in the Netherlands. The results show that economic participation in the host country is positively related to refugees' national self-identification. In addition, we find that refugees' social ties with Dutch natives are associated with national self-identification and that the relationship between economic participation and national self-identification is partially explained by these social ties. Perceived discrimination is not related to refugees' national self-identification. Implications of these findings for debates on immigration and integration are discussed.

This edited volume addresses the construction of identity classifications underlying the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that are to be found in contemporary Europe. Its scope covers practices of categorization and of resistance, both by majority groups.