Beyond (In-)Group Solidarity: Minority-Minority Relationships and Boundary Processes in the Context of Contemporary Immigration and Increasing Diversity (MIMI)

Rising immigration to Europe has fuelled an intense debate across the social sciences over the impact of ethnic diversity on social cohesion. To date, this debate has focussed primarily on the reactions of a dominant ‘native’ majority group to the growing presence of ethnic minorities. In contrast, the interactions between members of different minority groups are frequently overlooked. Addressing this oversight is important because minority–minority encounters constitute a substantial and increasing share of social interactions in diversifying societies. Thus, the study of minority–minority relations is key to understanding the potential for group cooperation and conflict in local, national, and institutional contexts. Against this backdrop, MIMI aims to extend our existing theoretical framework for the analysis of minority–minority relations. Combining innovative survey and experimental methods, MIMI will provide rigorous empirical evidence to describe and analyse the attitudes and behaviours of minorities towards other minorities (as well as ‘majority members’) and the increasing ethnoracial and religious diversity in Germany.