This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the influence of neighbourhood level presence of visible minorities on xenophobic party support. Drawing on previous research on the variation in the success rate of xenophobic political parties in Europe, considering contact and conflict theories suggested in the literature, we explore variation in electoral preferences for the Sweden Democrats. Focusing, in particular, on previous inconclusive evidence concerning contextual influences of the share of foreign born in different socioeconomic settings, we examine relationships between the presence of visible minorities at the neighbourhood level, controlling for the level of unemployment and education both in terms of potentially additive and interactive effects. Utilising aggregate level data for all electoral districts in Sweden, our contribution is built on a GIS-based novel methodological approach, through which neighbourhoods with a fixed population size is empirically defined for each individual in each electoral district. Thus measuring contact patterns, while in regression analyses also taking into account additive as well as interactive effects of aggregate level unemployment and education, we find that increased exposure of visible minorities unambiguously leads to an increase in xenophobic voting if the district level unemployment is high. Where unemployment is low, however, the effect of increased exposure may instead lead to reduced xenophobic party support, du to complex interaction effects involving aggregate education level. The results are discussed in the light of possible public policy measures to combat unemployment in multicultural democracies. Contact informationPer Strömblad

This article challenges previous findings suggesting that ethnic associations promote political participation among immigrants. Analyzing recent survey data from Sweden, the authors find that political activity among immigrants is encouraged by associational involvement in general but not by associations based on ethnic origin. To explain this difference, the authors examine important causal mechanisms between associational involvement and political participation. They conclude that while ethnic associations induce the development of civic skills, they do not create enough opportunities for mobilization through networks of political recruitment. Hence, compared to associations in which both mechanisms operate, ethnic associations tend to provide less politically stimulating environments.

Political trust among immigrants in Western Europe seems to be surprisingly high, especially among immigrants from non-democratic countries with institutions plagued by corruption. Over time, however, trust tends to diminish among these individuals. In this paper we argue that this may neither be explained by acculturation nor by experiences of discrimination. Analysing Swedish survey data we instead conclude, although tentatively, that falling expectations regarding the performance of host country institutions is a fruitful explanation. Such expectations presumably become more modest the longer one has been living in Sweden, causing a time-related drop in the overall confidence in Swedish political institutions.

This paper provides evidence of segregation-generated differences in political recruitment. Focusing on social-geographical differentiation in the urban landscape, it evaluates—in prior work largely neglected—contextual effects on requests for political participation. Consistent with previous research, the analyses suggest that political activists, who try to convince others to participate, systematically use a set of selection criteria when deciding whom to approach. However, using data based on a sample of inhabitants of Swedish cities and properties of their neighbourhoods, evidence is also presented for aggregate-level social exclusion influences on individual-level recruitment efforts. Consistent with the theoretical framework presented, the results indicate that the contextual effect stems both from the disproportional population composition in residential areas and from recruiters’ rational avoidance of areas marked by high levels of social exclusion. The net result, it is concluded, is a reinforcement of urban inequalities when it comes to the chances to be invited to political life.

This paper presents and empirically evaluates an analytical experiment, in which individual level explanations of differences in political participation are translated to an organizational level. Utilizing the 'Civic Voluntarism Model' of participation research, we analyse consequences of voluntary associations' potentially politically valuable 'resources', 'motivation' and 'recruitment networks'. We use unique data from a survey of ethnic associations in Stockholm, Sweden-which may be considered as particularly interesting since in Swedish integration policy such associations are expected to fulfil a formal political role. Estimating a series of regression models, our results suggest that the overall logic of how associational level political participation is encouraged resembles corresponding mechanisms on the individual level. We find that quite basic resources, such as the number of members in a given association, promote participation; also when motivation, as reflected in assessed importance of political influence, is accounted for. Similarly, the results confirm that access to political networks stimulates political participation among voluntary associations. We conclude that both our theoretical argument and empirical findings merit further analyses of ethnic associations as well as other collective actors' political participation in accordance with the approach taken in this study. In the remainder of the paper, we first proceed by elaborating our theoretical framework, including our re-conceptualisation of the CVM. Next, we provide information on the data collection procedures and the sample of associations on which the analyses are based. In the section following, we present empirical results; and in the final section we conclude our findings and discuss the fruitfulness of our approach. Contact information Introducing the toolbox of the CVMIf voluntary associations are regarded as actors that, in principle, could choose to take political action in one way or the other, may this be studied by using a theoretical toolbox designed for individual actors? Considering the CVM as such a toolbox, we find the prospects in this regard to be promising.According to the original version of the model, the political participation of ordinary citizens is primarily influenced by three overarching factors: In a nutshell, those who have resources that facilitate participation, and those who are psychologically motivated to participate are expected to be more involved in political life; further, citizens are expected to participate more frequently if they have access to political recruitment networks, in which mobilization takes place through explicit requests for political action (VSB 1995: Ch. 9;Brady, Schlozman and Verba 1999).As further elaborated below, the resources considered valuable for political And recruitment is an important aspect in the study of interorganizational networks (e.g. Diani and McAdam 2003).We see, however, three potential benefits with applying the CVM to issues of association level p...