Parallel Society Research Articles

Shaping Strict Migrant Policies through Housing Strategies in Denmark

In Denmark, approximately one million people reside in public housing. This sector encompasses over half of all “immigrants and their descendants from non-Western countries “. Educational attainment and employment rates among public housing residents are notably lower than the na-tional average, and a significant proportion rely on transfer income (Landsbyggefonden, 2022). In 2020, the Housing and Planning Authority designated 25 public housing areas as 'disadvantaged residential areas.' According to the Ministry of Housing, these areas are beset by several chal-lenges, including higher unemployment rates, lower educational levels, increased criminal activity, a predominance of residents with only basic education, and substantially lower incomes compared to the broader population (Bolig- og Planstyrelsen, 2020). The political strategy for addressing these disadvantaged areas has significantly changed in recent years. Since 2018, the Danish parliament, supported by a broad majority, has implemented the Parallel Society Agreement (PSA). Key elements of the PSA include mandatory childcare from age one for children in these areas, a prohibition on individuals receiving transfer incomes from relocating to the most severely affected 'ghetto areas,' language assessments for children beginning in kindergarten, and a cap of no more than 40% public housing in these areas. This is to be achieved by demolishing existing public housing and developing new private properties (PSA, 2018). These regulations, unique to areas predominantly inhabited by ethnic minorities, prompt questions about whether this represents a singular approach to housing policy or a continuation of practices that have been evolving since the 1980s with the increase in labor and refugee migration. This article will demonstrate, through policy document analysis and three case studies in Denmark, how politicians and the media construct a narrative that ethnic minorities in disadvantaged housing areas, often labeled as ghetto areas, lack the desire for cultural interaction and integration with the wider Danish society. This perception paves the way for legal and administrative practices that systematically discriminate against ethnic minorities, illustrating how housing policy is intricately connected to migration policy in Denmark.

An investigation of politicians' responses to urban diversity and disadvantage: The case of the Danish 'parallel societies'.

We examine how Danish politicians articulate views on the 'parallel society agreement' (aka, the 'ghetto-laws'), a controversial legislative intervention aiming to manage urban migration-related diversity. Through nationwide urban redevelopment aimed at facilitating residential 'mixing', the goal of the legislation is to eliminate so-called 'parallel societies'-socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods characterized by high concentrations of ethnic minorities. In-depth interviews with Danish politicians (n = 11) explored how this proposal was supported, contested or rejected in situated discourse. Following social representations theory, we focus on how 'parallel societies' were constructed in relation to differing ideas about 'mainstream society' and value-laden oppositional meaning-categories (i.e. themata). In particular, we highlight processes of socio-ethical reasoning that occurred through thematization of a shared oppositional meaning-category: 'freedom-constraint'. Views on the intervention were articulated around this oppositional meaning-category. Moreover, a connection was observed between the views articulated by individual politicians and sets of congruent ideas and images mobilized to represent 'parallel societies'. We discuss the theoretical value of taking a social representations approach to urban policy debates, and the practical limitations of dominant representations for successfully promoting intercultural dialogue and engagement-the stated goal of this intervention.

Displacing the other to unite the nation: The parallel society legislation in Denmark

In 2018, the then right-wing government in Denmark led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen and supported by the extreme right-wing party Danish People’s Party presented new legislation to end ‘parallel societies’ in Denmark by toughening the criminal law, enforcing Danish knowledge and nursery school assistance to toddlers, and, more importantly for this article, a series of urban interventions in ‘ghetto areas’ considered as such mainly when the proportion of immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries exceeded 50 per cent. Until recently research has focused on either the discursive elements of the ‘ghetto politics’ in Denmark or the urban interventions from an architectural or urban planning point of view. However, newfangled research deal with the entwined economic elements. In this article, I compare the different developmental plans proposed in the affected areas because of the legislation, with an aim to reach further and point at the inherent elements of urban b/ordering, that is, measures taken to attain social order and gain legitimacy by demarcating categories of people to incorporate some and exclude others through urban space. Indeed, through this comparison, I conclude that the ghetto legislation is a compelling example of the urban b/ordering inherent to the politics and dynamics of current liberal capitalist social democracies. It is a social experiment that remodels the geography of Denmark in terms that recall the eugenic and hygienic social and urban policies of the 19th century and form part of a worrying pattern that may have consequences that go beyond the stated ones.

Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects for Immigrant Organizations in Supporting Integration of Minorities; the Case of Polish Organizations in Ireland

The aim of this article is to highlight barriers and opportunities faced by Polish organizations in Ireland in promoting pro-integrationist, as opposed to isolationist, tendencies among Poles. Despite noticeable integration trends, the majority of Poles prefer to remain within their circles, creating a so-called parallel society. Poles’ respect for their cultural values may partially explain the fact that they fall into social exclusion by creating typically Polish networks inside which their lives oscillate. Currently, a critical condition for receiving funds for organizational activities is the requirement to adopt a specific profile in accordance with the demands imposed by sponsors. Consequently, the strategic role of Polish diaspora organizations is to implement programs aimed at integrating Poles into Irish society and with other minorities. Such, the role of Polish organizations will change; they are likely to employ a more cosmopolitan and integrating character, rather than isolating themselves and will need to respond to the changing needs of Poles in Ireland.

Bringing social sustainability into the mix: framing planning dilemmas in mixed-tenure regeneration

ABSTRACT While mixed-tenure regeneration has become a favoured strategy to battle concentrated disadvantage in social housing estates across the western world, the scholarly debate on tenure-mixing remains inconclusive. Some studies show that tenure-mixing can increase resident satisfaction, while others find that it may produce new forms of marginalization of low-income tenants. The mixed evidence in terms of outcomes suggests that further research is needed on viable ways forward for mixed-tenure regeneration. This paper argues that more attention should be directed towards the way project trajectories are shaped at the early stages of regeneration. It turns to the concept of social sustainability and examines how applying this concept as an analytical framework may contribute to understanding planning dilemmas embedded in mixed-tenure regeneration. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 33 practitioners involved in the early stages of mixed-tenure projects in Denmark under the so-called Parallel Society Act, it analyses practitioners’ perceptions of and approaches to tenure-mixing from a social sustainability perspective. The paper finds that the concept is helpful in framing planning dilemmas by sharpening the focus on equity and inclusion, community cohesion and participation in urban regeneration.

Arguments over Social Integration in Germany: ‘Illusion’ of Parallel Society

‘평행사회’는 유럽의 선진 다문화사회에서 이주자의 사회통합이 사회문화적·사회정치적 담론의 주제로 거론될 때마다 또는 이주자의 ‘실패한 사회통합’이 사회문화적·사회정치적 문제로 불거질 때마다 마치 단골처럼 등장하는 개념이다. 부정적 이미지로서의 평행사회가 한 사회문화적 공동체 안에서 실제로 존재한다면, 그 책임 소재는 과연 누구에게 있을까? 평행사회는 이주집단(또는 이주 배경을 지닌 집단)에게 이주사회로의 통합 의지가 결핍되거나 부족해서 생겨나는것 일까? 평행사회는 이주자에 대한 주류사회 구성원의 반감, 차별, 배제, 거부로 인해 이주집단(또는 이주 배경을 지닌 집단)이 자신들만의 생활 공간으로 숨는 것 이외에 선택의 여지가 없어 주류집단과의 사회문화적 공간을 차단하고 격리함으로써 생겨나는 것일까? 독일사회에서, 더 나아가 유럽의 선진 다문화사회에서 벌어졌던 그리고 벌어지고 있는 사회통합에 대한 사회정치적 담론들의 대부분은 다문화주의의 실패와 사회통합의 실패가 주류집단의 책임이 아니라, 평행사회를 구축한 이주집단(또는 이주 배경을 지닌 집단)의 책임이라는 결론으로 귀결된다. 그런데 다음 견해에 주목해 보자. ‘일반적으로 다문화사회에서는 다수자를 향한 소수자의 문제가 아니라, 소수자를 향한 다수자의 문제가 항상 있을 뿐이다.’ 이주자가 아니라 주류집단 구성원에게 사회통합의 의지가 결핍되거나 부족해서, 그리고 주류집단 구성원이 이주자에게 적대적·차별적·배타적·거부적 태도를 취해서 사회통합이 제대로 도달되지 않는다고 생각할 수는 과연 없을까? 그렇다면 독일사회를 포함한 유럽의 선진 다문화사회에서 평행사회는 한낱 ‘허상’에 불과할 뿐이다.

International Student Experience in Australia: Learning and Living in a Parallel Society

International Student Experience in Australia: Learning and Living in a Parallel Society

Громадянське суспільство в добу кризи режиму "нормалізації" та генезису євроатлантичного курсу Чехословаччини

The article is devoted to the history of Czechoslovak civil society and its important component – dissidents. The process of the independent initiatives and structures wide spectrum creation, which were in opposition to the regime of “normalization” is considered, as well as their influence on the process of democratic transit and determination of the integration course. Typology and program’s directions of this structure and the causes of polyvariance and controversiality in points of view are analyzed. The article draws special attention to the replacement of the paradigm of opposition work – the transition from political activity to the conception of «antipolitical policy». The level of the main components of the democratic movement influence, «Charter-77» on the social and political process during the researched period is determined. One of its consequences was the emergence of protostructures of the «parallel society». In Czechoslovakia the «parallel society» operated under the strong influence of state structures. It was forced to distance itself from political issues. Nevertheless, the structures of the «parallel society» and its «nonpolitical policy» turned out to provide a significant system of ideas and organizational initiatives. It was capable of transforming the society, which was stagnant in the final years of the policy of «normalization». It also promoted the future emergence of democratic structures. On the basis of the political and legal experience in Czechoslovakia is proved the interdependence of civil society and democratic processes activity. The author emphasizes that the transition into a full European Union and NATO members was the result of a long, difficult and controversial process of «European Come Back». This process started after the Velvet Revolution victory and allowed the leadership of the countries with the support of the «third sector» to manage a number of problems in the social-political and military-technical spheres. The participation principles of civil society and its organizations in public life, in the decision-making process at the state level, and reasons for the decline of activism in the political culture of the population are considered.

Struggles and Dilemmas of Uyghur Immigrants in Turkey

The social and economic integration of the Uyghurs into Turkish society reflects a problem to which policy makers have not yet found a response. Marginalized by the larger society and separated by linguistic differences and cultural and social life-styles, a significant proportion of Uyghurs, especially “newcomers” who have arrived since the 1980s, is in danger of becoming part of a “parallel society.” This is reinforced by exclusion, inferiorization and “otherness,” restricted educational achievements, uncertain citizenship, legal status limbo and low socioeconomic status. Pro-Uyghur, pro-independence and anti-Chinese government mobilization in Turkey has attracted the attention of Chinese authorities for a long time, and this attention has in turn affected and shaped mobilization in Turkey. The Turkey-China relationship is involved as well. The main goals of Chinese policy and strategy in Turkey are the security of “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” (a.k.a. East Turkistan), access to natural resources, security of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and economic and technological investment. It means that China believes it must consolidate its control of “Xinjiang” (East Turkistan) and restrain the Uyghur independence movement in Turkey. China’s economic and technological power and investments in Turkey are not just increasing its influence; they are making Turkey far more reticent to speak out about Beijing’s abuses, systematic oppression and atrocities in the “Xinjiang” (East Turkistan). China’s geo-economic strategy has resulted in political influence in Turkey that profoundly affects its Uyghur population.

“Parallel Societies” and a Turn Towards Soft Assimilation

The article presents an overview of theoretical discussions about the content and formats for the use of the term “parallel societies” in social and humanitarian discourses and political debates on immigration. Based on the previous immigration studies (of the Chicago sociological school, T. Meyer in Germany, etc.), a number of authors point out negative connotations associated with this term due to phobias of Islamic radicalism. Other researchers propose to abandon the term "parallel society". They insist on the hollowness of this concept, which just reflects the fears of a certain part of European society. However, the majority of specialists pay attention to the ambiguous nature of segregation as the basis for the development of “parallel societies”, acting for immigrants as a protection mechanism against discrimination and facilitates their integration. Furthermore, the researchers provide empirical evidence of a link between the deterioration of social and economic conditions and the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment. The study highlights the paradoxical conclusion that immigrant communities with a strong influence of religion lack public “parallel” structures that represented their interests in the majority society. Meanwhile the states do not have the appropriate tools to establish a dialogue with religious immigrant organizations and to oppose the promotion of their life style. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the growing tendency to abandon the strategy of multiculturalism and return to a soft variant of assimilation and integration.

Социально-политический аспект шведского исламизма как фактор формирования этноконфессионального «параллельного общества»

An ethno-confessional parallel society, a new actor in the European geopolitical space, is transforming the social and political fabric of Sweden. An institutionalised Muslim parallel society is emerging in vulnerable areas, such as marginalised immigrant districts of Swedish cities, through the efforts of Islamist political, social, and economic structures adhering to the religious and political doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood. Committed to maintaining the Muslim identity, these organisations seek gradual Islamisation of the Swedish population through ideological influence on immigrants with a Muslim background. These efforts thwart cultural assimilation attempts and hinder the implementation of Swedish integration policy. The lack of research into the peaceful Islamisation of Swedish society and the related problems of Islamophobia, anti-Muslim racism, and radicalisation of Muslim youth lends urgency to investigating the influence of Islamist organisations on the Swedish Muslim immigrant community. This study analyses the literature, sources, and statistics on the essential aspects of Swedish Islamisation to provide a holistic picture of the formation of an ethnic-confessional parallel society in Sweden. The findings help evaluate the effectiveness of the national policy on confronting parallel societies, as well as of measures to promote democratic values as the foundation of a united Swedish society.

Конфессиональные «параллельные» общества в контексте иммиграционной политики Скандинавских стран

The article analyzes potential and real threats to the national security of the Scandinavian countries from Muslim segregated communities of immigrants who form “parallel” societies on the territory of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Based on the commonality of the historical development, the economic system and the sociopolitical structure of the states in this geopolitical region, the research identifies general trends in the formation of a confessional parallel society and the modern political immigration strategy in Northern Europe. The study of social and political discourse and officially published documents on the problem of “parallel” societies makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of actions taken by state structures to ensure the full integration of isolated Muslim communities in the majority society. The reports of ministries and internal law enforcement agencies in the states of Northern Europe deserve special attention against the background of the widespread exploitation of the problems of Muslim parallel communities in the media and sociopolitical debates that escalate social tension in the Scandinavian countries. Despite the fact that the official reports emphasize the undeniable relevance of this problem, they exclude the possibility of escalating the current situation into a threat of national or international scale since the police keep these territories under control. However, the lack of successful integration policies of Denmark, Sweden and Norway regarding ethno-religious minorities significantly complicates the legal regulation of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity within their national borders. This situation leads to the formation of “vulnerable residential areas” with a high degree of crime against the background of a low socioeconomic standard of living. The population of such areas mainly consists of non-Western immigrants practicing Islam. Discrimination of the rights of ethno-religious minorities in democratic countries to a large extent determines the tendency to the segregation of Muslim communities from the majority society on the basis of their own cultural and religious order, which subsequently may lead to religious radicalization. Despite the positive measures taken by the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Norway to integrate Muslim minorities into the majority society, the prevailing inefficiency of the existing immigration policy in the context of the continuous expansion of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity among the population of the Scandinavian countries is stated. Moreover, the main reason for the emergence of a confessional parallel society as a modern social phenomenon lies in the practical absence of state structures and public institutions capable to ensure full integration of all citizens into a united society.

The journey began in 1995: how Beijing shaped 25 years of feminist activism

ABSTRACT This is a personal history of a feminist journey which began in the period leading up to the United Nations Fourth Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995. It offers a first-hand account that might also reflect the experiences of many other feminists globally. This experience of participation in the preparations for Beijing, and attendance at the Conference itself as well as the parallel Huairou civil society event, provided a high point and a catalyst for a lifetime of activism in the Middle East and North Africa regions. I reflect on the opportunities created, the challenges encountered, and the learning gained.

Performance improvement of cloud security with parallel anarchies society optimization algorithm for virtual machine selection in cloud computing

Performance improvement of cloud security with parallel anarchies society optimization algorithm for virtual machine selection in cloud computing

Living in a Parallel Society

Living in a Parallel Society

Parallel society: Myth or reality? A question for policy makers

ABSTRACT The Danish government has produced a public document to announce that deviations from societal values were tolerated no more. They denounced the presence of “alternative values” areas (called “parallel societies”), located mostly where low or no income residents live in social/public housing (officially called “ghetto areas” or ghettoområder). Through the means of agent-based computational simulation, this paper uses a nested “model in a model” approach to study the issue by introducing a policy-simulation-policy loop. The paper is a first attempt to explore whether programmatic policy indications have some actual reflection on the formation of these “alternative values” areas. Results suggest ways in which a sustainable governmental policy on ghetto areas shall not start from assuming divergence where there is none, showing the value of the technique developed for this paper.

Menschen und Haustiere im Deutschen Kaiserreich. Eine Beziehungsgeschichte by Amir Zelinger

Reviewed by: Menschen und Haustiere im Deutschen Kaiserreich. Eine Beziehungsgeschichte by Amir Zelinger Maureen O. Gallagher Menschen und Haustiere im Deutschen Kaiserreich. Eine Beziehungsgeschichte. By Amir Zelinger. Bielefeld: transcript, 2018. Pp. 404. Cloth €39.99. ISBN 978-3837639353. Many of us accept as a given the presence of cats, dogs, fish, birds, reptiles, and small mammals in our homes, but, like all social conventions, the particular practice of sharing house space with animals has a particular history shaped by complex social dynamics. In Menschen und Haustiere im Deutschen Kaiserreich, Amir Zelinger, a postdoctoral researcher in History at Boston University, uses the voices of Wilhelmine Germans, from bureaucratic documents, autobiographies, diaries, and journals and periodicals, to show how Wilhelmine Germans came to cultivate these relationships and how companion animals, as they are termed here following Donna Haraway, became a key part of the Wilhelmine household. The volume is thoroughly researched and touches on an astonishing breadth of topics—colonialism, scientific racism, the history of hygiene and medicine, the development of industrial meat production, changes in the household economy, the rise of animal rights, etc. The book is structured into four chapters that link large-scale social dynamics like the authoritarian bureaucratic state, scientific racism, and industrialization to the story of humans and their relationship to companion animals. The first chapter, "Das nützliche Haustier," documents the changing role of the Nutztier in Wilhelmine households in light of industrialization and urbanization and the changing food production landscape. Using autobiographies, journals and other documents of daily life, trade journals, and bureaucratic documents relating to agriculture and animal husbandry, Zelinger shows that Wilhelmine Germans increasingly came to offer house space to animals like chickens and rabbits and that these relationships were marked by both affection and usefulness. Chapter 2, "Das kontrollierte Haustier," chronicles the dog's long march through the institutions of Wilhelmine Germany's authoritarian state (Obrigkeitsstaat). Zelinger analyzes laws, policies, and police reports to show how efforts to combat rabies and to implement dog registration and license fees simultaneously brought dogs and other animals more directly under state control and brought humans and animals closer together. The third chapter, "Das wilde Haustier," takes up the rise of popular science to counter the common argument that this time represents a period of estrangement from nature to instead show how Wilhelmine animal collectors and autodidacts forged a [End Page 595] new relationship to and understanding of nature. Hobbyist scientists who collected animals like fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians for purposes of scientific observation and classification and sought to recreate "natural" habitats for them attempted to find a new balance between nature and culture, the "natürlich-kuturell" (268). The fourth and final chapter, "Das rassifizierte Haustier," shows how Wilhelmine ideas about racial purity and anxieties about racial mixing were projected onto dogs. Efforts led by the upper classes to not only define racial distinctions between breeds but to breed better, purer animals led, perhaps paradoxically, to a "radikalen Annäherung" of human and animal (343). Humans came to view dogs as living in a kind of parallel society and efforts to render this society racially pure reveal broader concerns with supposed degeneration and social progress. Zelinger convincingly argues that domestication is most properly seen as a kind of socialization (Vergesellschaftung). Though the book contains a thorough discussion of print sources, it would also have benefited from consulting more visual sources. This is, after all, the era that, at least in the English-speaking world, brought us novelty cat photography (e.g., British photographer Henry "Harry" Pointer [1822–1889] and his "Brighton Cats"). If such documents do not exist from Wilhelmine Germany, that would be an important observation, and if they do exist, including photographs and visual analysis could have livened up the, at times, dense prose. The work touches on both race and class, particularly in the final chapter, but lacks a thorough discussion of gender. It was primarily men—amateur scientists, collectors, bureaucrats, members of breeding (Tierzucht) groups—who documented their interactions with animals in the sources Zelinger consults. Yet were those men the primary caretakers of these animals or did the day-to-day work of feeding, watering, socializing, and cleaning the...

Cyber-Physical-Social Systems: The State of the Art and Perspectives

This paper is to discuss the state, trend, and frontiers of development of cyber-physical-social systems (CPSSs) in China. The demand for developing CPSS is discussed in detail, followed by the Artificial societies, Computational experiments, Parallel execution (ACP) approach for CPSS and knowledge automation. The development of ACP based on CPSS in transportation, energy, information, Internet of Things, and Internet of Minds (IoM) is discussed to demonstrate the cutting-edge applications in CPSS. Finally, the blockchainized IoM technology and the concepts of parallel society are described. This paper will contribute to the transition from the current social construct to a futuristic intelligent society.

Neoliberalism Meets Minority Nationalism: The Politics of Hungarian Higher Education in Romania

A Hungarian public university was one of the main demands of the leaders of Hungarians from Romania after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Almost three decades later, higher education in Hungarian has developed into a precarious, fragmented, and divided institutional assemblage, solidified around two main components, the Hungarian line of study at the well-established public Babeș-Bolyai University and the new private university Sapientia, reliant on the Hungarian government’s financial support. The article investigates how Hungarians from Romania, whose persistent ethnic politics brought them extensive recognition, and who were successful in creating a Hungarian parallel society, failed to converge in achieving one of their most important goals. By unpacking this case of intra-ethnic unmixing, it shows how institutional arrangements affect the stakes and means of the struggle for minority rights, and how structural asymmetry in numbers and power carries disadvantage into the life of institutions.

Slaget om hemmet

The struggle about home. Values, social exclusion and the suburb as the periphery of the People’s homeIn this article, we analyse contemporary discourses about social exclusion in the suburbs. The empirical material is mainly based on speeches of different Swedish political party leaders during the Politician’s Week (politikerveckan) in Almedalen that took place in 2016. By adopting a discursive psychology approach, we have examined the interpretative repertoires and the discursive resources that the party leaders use to frame the suburbs as sites of ”parallel society”, criminality, passivity, gender oppression, radicalization and dominance of values that assumingly pose a threat to the social cohesion of Swedish society and the basis of the People’s Home. In order to remediate the ”crisis of values” in Swedish society that migration and social exclusion of suburbs have supposedly engendered, ”Swedish values” are highlighted as important resources to strengthen social cohesion and reclaim the endangered People’s Home. Thus, values are gradually becoming primary markers of difference and deployed to construct hierarchies of belonging and rights in the Swedish society.