Abstract
The dominance of the political opportunity structure approach has led to an emphasis of institutional variables in the field of migrant mobilization. This paper critically discusses political opportunity structure theory and defends alternative explanations for variance in levels of ethnic protest among migrants. In particular, it is argued that cultural distance, social stratification, and transnational bonds might be the driving forces behind the political mobilization of migrants. The theories are tested with protest event data for seven European countries between 1975 and 2005.
Highlights
Ethnic mobilization can manifest itself in parliamentary or extra-parliamentary politics
While ethnic minority mobilization is institutionalized in the political arena through ethnic parties, in the extra-parliamentary arena it is structured by ethnic social movements (Olzak, 2006, pp. 42–47)
This paper focuses on migrant protest, a subtype of ethnic protest denoting cases in which action taken by migrants remains congruent with their group boundaries
Summary
Ethnic mobilization can manifest itself in parliamentary or extra-parliamentary politics. While ethnic minority mobilization is institutionalized in the political arena through ethnic parties, in the extra-parliamentary arena it is structured by ethnic social movements This paper focuses on migrant protest, a subtype of ethnic protest denoting cases in which action taken by migrants remains congruent with their group boundaries. The goal is to explain when migrants protest takes place, i.e. when migrants use protest in order to mobilize for their specific political goals. We engage in a critical assessment of political opportunity structure theory (POS) – the dominant approach in the study of migrant mobilization. We distinguish between a broad and a narrow version of POS and discuss the theory against approaches emphasizing ethnic division of labor, cultural distance, and transnational bonds
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