Ethnic Minorities In Europe Research Articles

Roma integration in European labor markets

The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe—as well as one of the most disadvantaged. A triple vicious circle is at play: Substandard socio-economic outcomes reinforce each other; they fuel negative attitudes and perceptions, leading to ill-chosen policies; and segmentation is perpetuated through (statistical) discrimination. A severe lack of data precludes progress. However, existing bits of evidence point to virtuous ways out.

Representing Romani Gypsies and Travelers: Performing Identity from Early Photography to Reality Television

Images of Romani Gypsies and Travelers abound in popular culture and the press, feeding into a series of stereotypes that appear to have survived largely unchanged for well over 200 years. With Romani and Traveler communities increasingly at the center of important debates on the treatment of migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe, these representations offer important insights into when and why Roma communities are sometimes conveniently visible or invisible, and how national and EU actors use their (in)visibility to make particular claims about solutions to discrimination. This article argues that although Roma and Traveler representations continue to follow traditional stereotypes, there is a noticeable change in their nature and the role that they play in both Roma and non-Roma communities. By juxtaposing iconic photographic representations of Gypsies by Josef Koudelka in 1960s Czechoslovakia and the rise of new reality TV series such as My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and American Gypsies, this article aims to show the nature of change in Romani and Traveler representations and how they perform their collective identities.

A configurational analysis of ethnic protest in Europe

This article analyzes the conditions under which ethnic minorities intensify or moderate their protest behavior. While this question has been previously asked, we find that prior studies tend to generalize explanations across a varied set of ethnic groups and assume that causal conditions can independently explain whether groups are more or less mobilized. By contrast, this study employs a technique – fuzzy-set analysis – that is geared toward matching comparable groups to specific analytical configurations of causal factors to explain the choice for strong and weak protest. The analysis draws on a sample of 29 ethnic minorities in Europe and uses three group and two contextual conditions inspired by Gurr’s ethnopolitical conflict model to understand why some ethnic minorities protest more frequently than others. We find that two group-related factors have the strongest claim to being generalizable: while territorial concentration is a necessary condition for strong protest, national pride is a necessary condition for weak protest. The contextual factors of level of democracy and ethnic fractionalization, which are often emphasized in the literature, and the perceived political discrimination of a group, are neither necessary nor individually sufficient conditions for either strong or weak protest. Hence, they help understanding some cases, but not all, and only in combination with other conditions. Such causal complexity, inherent in the phenomenon of ethnic protest, underscores the need for a case-sensitive, yet comparative, approach.

Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Representation in Europe: Conceptual Challenges and Theoretical Approaches

This article introduces the symposium on the representation of immigrant-origin and ethnic minorities in Europe. It argues for the importance of research on this topic, noting the large, established populations of immigrant-origin citizens and their descendants across Western European countries and these minorities’ underrepresentation in elected bodies. Current research gaps concern both empirical knowledge and the theoretical conceptualisation of immigrant and ethnic minority political involvement. The article argues that existing research on representation needs to be extended to suit the cases of immigrants and ethnic minorities. It ends by providing a brief overview of each contribution to the symposium.

Understanding career experiences of skilled minority ethnic workers in France and Germany

Human resource management literature pays little attention to the agency of skilled ethnic minorities in Europe in terms of explaining their career choices and outcomes. As a step towards addressing this gap, we draw on two field studies based on qualitative interviews. One of these studies draws on interviews with 49 participants in France, and the other is based on interviews with 30 participants in Germany. Through a Bourdieuan analysis, we contribute to the human resource management literature, and demonstrate the varied forms that the agency of highly skilled ethnic minorities takes, in terms of their work experiences, in the context of structures of inequality in both countries.

Adiposity and hyperglycaemia in pregnancy and related health outcomes in European ethnic minorities of Asian and African origin: a review

Background: Ethnic minorities in Europe have high susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and, in some groups, also cardiovascular disease (CVD). Pregnancy can be considered a stress test that predicts future morbidity patterns in women and that affects future health of the child.Objective: To review ethnic differences in: 1) adiposity, hyperglycaemia, and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy; 2) future risk in the mother of obesity, T2DM and CVD; and 3) prenatal development and possible influences of maternal obesity, hyperglycaemia, and pre-eclampsia on offspring's future disease risk, as relevant for ethnic minorities in Europe of Asian and African origin.Design: Literature review.Results: Maternal health among ethnic minorities is still sparsely documented. Higher pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) is found in women of African and Middle Eastern descent, and lower BMI in women from East and South Asia compared with women from the majority population. Within study populations, risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is considerably higher in many minority groups, particularly South Asians, than in the majority population. This increased risk is apparent at lower BMI and younger ages. Women of African origin have higher risk of pre-eclampsia. A GDM pregnancy implies approximately seven-fold higher risk of T2DM than normal pregnancies, and both GDM and pre-eclampsia increase later risk of CVD. Asian neonates have lower birth weights, and mostly also African neonates. This may translate into increased risks of later obesity, T2DM, and CVD. Foetal overgrowth can promote the same conditions. Breastfeeding represents a possible strategy to reduce risk of T2DM in both the mother and the child.Conclusions: Ethnic minority women in Europe with Asian and African origin and their offspring seem to be at increased risk of T2DM and CVD, both currently and in the future. Pregnancy is an important window of opportunity for short and long-term disease prevention.

Mental Health of Children of Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in Europe

Goals: The geo-political and socio-economic landscape of Europe has undergone significant changes since the World Wars creating challenges for both health policy makers and health service providers. This paper aims to review immigration trends in Europe and identify problems and needs of immigrant and ethnic minority children and youth with respect to mental health services. Methods: Published reports and studies on mental health of immigrant and ethnic minority youth are reviewed and discussed. Results: Data show immigrant and ethnic minority youth in the European Union consistently experience discrimination, marginalization and stigmatization, which increases their risk for mental health problems. The stigmatization of mental health problems within their groups decreases their propensity to seek mental health services or to respond to interventions when they are offered. Conclusions: The most vulnerable population with respect to having poor health profiles and outcomes are immigrants and ethnic minorities ; within these groups are many children and young people with mental health problems. In societies with higher rate of immigration such as Europe it is important that mental health services are both accessible and culturally sensitive. Using various evidence based interventions in appropriate setting would improve mental health of these children and prevent developing serious mental health disorders. Are mental health services and interventions geared to meet the needs of these population groups in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way?

‘Why can’t we just all get along?’ The concepts that divide academics, policymakers and citizens related to the Muslim ethnic minorities in Europe

The oft-quoted phrase, ‘why can’t we just all get along?’ is a cynical reference to seemingly intractable conflicts of all kinds. Implied in the question is the idea that people stake out positions that can never be sufficiently modified to reach the goal of ‘getting along’. The impreciseness of definition and use of certain terms in discourse related to European ethnic minorities has resulted in a polarization of positions by academic researchers, policymakers and the general public. This concept explication addresses the multiple definitions and use of terms and shifts in policies in Europe and calls for renewed efforts to understand differing points of view.

Playing the indigenous card? The Shetland and Orkney Udal Law group and indigenous rights

The term ‘indigenous peoples’ generally refers to the original inhabitants of areas of the world colonized by Europeans. Relatively few ethnic minorities in Europe have been recognized as indigenous. A consequence of globalization is that knowledge of rights gained by indigenous groups in different parts of the world has led to explicit or implicit claims for indigenous status by organized groups within some European ethnic or regional minorities. An example from the Northern Isles of Scotland is the Shetland and Orkney Udal Law group (SOUL), which includes on its website links to legal decisions supporting indigenous rights in Canada and Australia. SOUL argues for greater local autonomy regarding the use of resources. The islands were inhabited by Norse settlers from Scandinavia from the 9th century AD and came under Scottish rule in the 1460s. Certain elements of Norse law related to land tenure, in particular foreshore rights, have survived to the present as a form of customary law referred to as udal law. Udal law has been the subject of court cases in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has been presented as symbolizing Orkney and Shetland identity, and brought into public debates on matters of concern to Orcadians and Shetlanders. Udal law is invoked to support a claim for local control over the surrounding sea and seabed, important for fishing, salmon-farming and oil exploitation. These issues are examined in relation to definitions of indigenous peoples applied by the United Nations, International Labour Organisation, and World Bank.

Roma Question : Reflecting the Internal Debate within the European Union

The European Union in contemporary international relations is presumed as a regional organization dedicated for promotion of human rights, rule and law and governance. The EU has an image of a normative international power but contrary to it several issues in past raises serious questions on its liberal political, social and organizational structures. Roma population is the single largest ethnic minority in Europe but lately faced several problems. The decision of the French government to deport Roma settlers from its territory led to intense debate on human right issues in the EU. This article focuses on the debate and how it is linked with overall international impression of the EU.

The challenge of measuring immigrant origin and immigration-related ethnicity in Europe

Different European nation-states use the most diverse statistical constructions of foreign origin or ethnic minority populations. Several countries traditionally even shun from producing such data. This makes international comparison a very difficult endeavour. Anyone wanting to perform comparative research on immigrants or (immigrant origin) ethnic minorities in Europe is unavoidably confronted with the most diverse types of national statistical data and has to opt for ad hoc solutions. Attempts at international comparison can thus be very tricky due to data characteristics. It is important that researchers are aware of these problems and do not simply accept data (especially in comparisons) at face value. In this article we embark on a comparative explorative study of the way in which immigrant background and immigration related ethnicity is taken stock of by national statistical institutes in a set of European nation-states.

Introduction to Special Issue

This special issue focuses on organized crime, terrorism and European criminology. In their article on drug trafficking and ethnic minorities in Europe, Letizia Paoli and Peter Reuter show how ethnicity can be transformed from a 'trait' into a product of social position, social ties and opportunity structures. In the second article, Rebecca Surtees describes the patterns of human trafficking from and within countries in South and Eastern Europe. The third article, by Edward Kleemans and Christianne De Poot, concerns a theoretical and empirical gap in the literature on criminal careers. The final article on the psychological processes of Jihadi radicalization, by Andrew Silke, also contributes something new to the literature on 'criminal careers'. The articles in this special issue illustrate how organized crime and terrorism research may succeed in expanding the domain of criminology, both empirically and theoretically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Attitudes Towards Immigrants, Other Integration Barriers, and Their Veracity

The paper studies opinions and attitudes towards immigrants and minorities and their interactions with other barriers to minorities' economic integration. Specifically, we consider the minority experts' own perceptions about these issues, the veracities and repercussions of unfavorable attitudes of natives. Employing newly available data from the IZA Expert Opinion Survey 2007 we depict main trends in the integration situation of ethnic minorities in Europe in a comparative manner. Using a unique dataset, this innovative study is the first to gauge the perspectives of expert stakeholders and ethnic minorities on their integration situation and the main barriers that hinder it. Robust findings show that ethnic minorities: face integration problems; natives' general negative attitudes are a key factor of their challenging situation; discrimination is acknowledged as the single most important integration barrier; low education and self-confidence as well as cultural differences also hinder integration; minorities want change and that it come about by policies based on the principle of equal treatment. Well designed integration policies that take the specific situation of the respective ethnic minority into account, are persistent and enforce anti-discrimination laws are desirable.

Migration och socialt medborgarskap

This paper discusses migration and social citizenship in the light of new forms of social exclusion of new ethnic minorities in Europe. The author claims that Europe risks developing multiculturali ...

Introduction to the Special Issue: Media and Ethnic Minorities in Europe

Abstract Across the countries of Europe and within the European Union, there seems to be no end to discussions of policies related to migrants – from the labor migrants who came to Europe more than 40 years ago to the continued requests from prospective migrants who want to immigrate for asylum and family formation. The discussions on what those policies should be, range from multiculturalism to integration and assimilation. Shifts in policies have occurred because of the slow economic and educational progress made by some migrants; by the post-9/11 changes in attitudes and behavior among some Muslim migrants, and by concerns over the increased size of the migrant population.

Minority status and schooling—John U. Ogbu’s theory and the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe

This paper discusses the relevance of John U. Ogbu’s cultural‐ecological theory regarding the variability in educational performance of different ethnic minority groups against the background of comparative data on the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe. Aside from cultural differences and institutional barriers, it addresses the impact of minority group status and community forces on educational achievement. The author calls for more comparative ethnographic research in European countries in order to generate a better understanding of the similarities and differences in educational experiences between various ethnic groups.

The 1.5 Generation of Russian Immigrants in Israel: Between Integration and Sociocultural Retention

Diaspora 12:1 2003 The 1.5 Generation of Russian Immigrants in Israel: Between Integration and Sociocultural Retention Larissa Remennick Bar-Ilan University Introduction Consecutive immigrant generations and the process of their incorporation into host societies are emerging as a new focus of interest in the contemporary sociology of migration (Portes and Zhou; Portes and Schauffler; Portes and Rumbaut; Rumbaut and Portes). The bulk of the evidence from different countries and on various types of migration (ethnic return migration, labor migration , asylum seeking) shows a significant tendency to ethnic and cultural retention in the first generation of adult migrants (Alba and Nee; Rumbaut, “Assimilation”; Rumbaut and Portes). When these migrants assimilate at all, the process is usually partial and segmented, that is, the adjustment in some life realms (in the workplace , in educational and other public institutions) is more effective and expedient than in other, more private ones (family life, personal relationships, consumption patterns). In response to these observations , the concept of integration (instrumental adaptation to the host society while retaining the minority’s own ethnocultural core) emerged in modern migration discourse to replace the traditional assimilation perspective in research on first-generation migrants (Nauck; Remennick, “What Does”). Recent research among newly formed ethnic minorities in Europe and North America has shown that the pace of their integration is largely determined by the social capital they are endowed with, most importantly education, professional experience, and proficiency in the host language (Grillo; Nauck; Portes and Rumbaut). These personal resources allow recent migrants to develop biculturalbilingual identity and lifestyle over time, combining features of their home and host cultures (Berry; Portes and Schauffler; Nauck). The pace of integration is also determined by the attitudes and policies toward immigrants adopted by the host society; these can result in consensus, tension, or conflict. In response to exclusion and discrimination, immigrant communities may develop the reactive ethnicity syndrome, refusing to integrate even at the cost of marginalization and lost opportunities for upward social mobility (Portes and Rumbaut). 39 Diaspora 12:1 2003 It was commonly expected by migration theorists of the past (see Rumbaut, “Assimilation”; Neuwirth; Portes and Rumbaut) that integration should and probably would accelerate in the second generation , while the third and subsequent generations would in all likelihood reach a state of total assimilation (i.e., dissolution into the host country’s majority). However, this traditional linear model of assimilation has recently been challenged by new trends that have emergedasparadoxesofglobalization:increasedmigrationaccompanied by a revival of ethnicity and fortification of transnational ethnic diasporas. Contrary to all forecasts, second- and third-generation immigrants often reclaim their ethnic roots and reestablish social and economic links with their long-lost homelands. Reflecting this reality, some social theorists envision a new multicultural society emerging on the intersection of the global and the local, with a mosaic of ethnic languages and lifestyles preserved in some fashion and to various degrees, or even enhanced (Grillo; Vertovec). A common flaw of current research on immigrant generations is that the divide between them is too crude, overlooking significant variance in the pace and quality of integration between members of the same formal “generation” who moved to the host country at different phases of the life cycle. Clearly, there is a substantial difference in the experiences of migrants who arrive as children, as adolescents, as young adults, in middle age, or as older adults, even if they all technically belong to the first generation of immigrants. Recent studies among first-generation immigrants in Israel, Germany , and the United States have pointed to the age at migration as a salient determinant of integration through its influence on such factors as host language learning, opportunities for education, occupational success, and social inclusion in the host society (Leshem and Lissak, “Development”; Nauck; Steinbach; Gold, “Soviet Jews”; Remennick, “What Does”). Of special interest is the integration process among the so-called 1.5 generation, that is, immigrants who move to the host country as older children and adolescents, having spent part of their formative years in the country of origin. So far, few special studies have analyzed the experiences of young migrants from this standpoint; most that have done so focused on Asian youth in the United...

Religiosity and Prejudice against Ethnic Minorities in Europe: Cross-National Tests on a Controversial Relationship

In this contribution we argue that previous research on religiosity and prejudice against ethnic minorities has been seriously hampered. Therefore, we set out to establish the relationship between different dimensions of religiosity and prejudice in 11 cross-national European samples, employing comparable measurements of religiosity, controlling for individual and national characteristics. A crucial finding is that Catholics and Protestants support prejudice against ethnic minorities more than non-religious people. It turns out that the more frequently people attend church, the more they are prejudiced. Subscribing to doctrinal beliefs reduces prejudice. The more salient religiosity is in people's lives and the more spirituality they experience, the more they dissociate from prejudice. However, the stronger people subscribe to religious particularism, the stronger their prejudice is. We would like to emphasize that the effects of religiosity are equal across countries and not spurious: controlling for other relevant individual and national characteristics does not substantially reduce the effects of specific dimensions of religiosity on prejudice against ethnic minorities.

The political participation of ethnic minorities in Europe: A framework for analysis

(1993). The political participation of ethnic minorities in Europe: A framework for analysis. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: Vol. 20, The Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities in Europe, pp. 1-8.

Housing and urban policy

(1993). Housing and urban policy. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: Vol. 20, The Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities in Europe, pp. 161-166.