Drawing the Line: National Identity, Belonging and Participation among Immigrants in the UK and Germany

Most societies have become more diverse due to increasing globalization and migration flows. This diversity challenges societies and policymakers to reflect on the boundaries between members and non-members of a nation. Distinction between social groups, however, is a prerequisite for the devaluation of others, and thus for hostility towards immigrants. Research on national identity suggests that particularly ethnically charged conceptions of nationhood are associated with both anti-immigrant sentiment and far-right voting. Furthermore, the prevalence of immigration-related issues or national in-group issues in public debate has been found to activate national identities for political behavior, with far-right parties benefiting from the prevalence of such issues. However, these studies have focused exclusively on a country’s majority members. It remains unclear how non-native minority members view and define national identity. There is very little research on how immigrants perceive the boundaries of the societies in which they live in, and how these perceptions affect their own identification with these societies. This is important because such perceptions may shape immigrants’ feelings of belonging, social integration, and political participation within the societies they live in. 
Understanding how immigrants draw symbolic boundaries around the nation, thus, sheds light on processes of inclusion and exclusion. Turning to immigrant populations, we ask (i) how immigrants perceive national boundaries and (ii) whether narrow and exclusionary definitions of national boundaries shape immigrants’ feelings of belonging. Finally, we (iii) asses the relationship between national boundary perceptions, feelings of national belonging, and political participation of immigrants.

The Mittelbaukollowuium is a weekly Wednesday colloquium for doctoral students and postdocs at the MZES organized by the staff representatives. It also serves as a venue for our visiting fellows to present their research. If you have any questions about the Kolloquium, feel free to get in touch with Oliver Rittmann.