British and disengaged: national identification and political engagement before and after naturalisation

Abstract

Empirical work has documented the socio-economic characteristics of immigrants who naturalise and the effects of naturalisation on labour market outcomes. Political engagement and national identity are, however, salient but understudied dimensions of citizenship. Using two waves of the U.K. Household Longitudinal Study, I investigate immigrants' national identification and political engagement before and after naturalisation. I find that before naturalisation those who acquire citizenship are more likely to identify as British, be familiar with the British political system and are less interested in politics compared to those who do not. I also find that after naturalisation, the importance of new citizens give to their British identity is higher than before, but their interest in politics is lower. I argue that citizenship retains its role as a marker of national identity for immigrants and that the negative association between naturalisation and interest in politics for immigrants is compatible with the low political engagement of the British-born population. I suggest that the further decline in interest in politics following naturalisation may be explained by immigrants' disillusionment with a political narrative that fails to include them. I reflect on the implications of my findings for the conceptualisation of citizenship, for policy, and for future research.

Where and Why Immigrants Intend to Naturalize: The Interplay Between Acculturation Strategies and Integration Policies

“…As a rite of passage from immigrant outsiders to national insiders, citizenship acquisition represents an integration milestone for immigrants and grants them access to the rights and duties limited to national citizens (Ersanilli & Koopmans, 2011;OECD, 2011). As compared to immigrants without host-national citizenship, naturalized citizens tend to enjoy higher socioeconomic status in society, engage more in politics, and build stronger ties with host nationals (Bevelander, 2011;Bratsberg, Ragan, & Nasir, 2002;Hainmueller, Hangartner, & Pietrantuono, 2017; but see Donnaloja, 2020). More than any other acculturative component, citizenship acquisition is a pivotal accelerator of immigrants' long-term sociostructural incorporation (Hainmueller et al, 2017), political agency and claim making (Bloemraad, 2018), and transnational mobility and family reunification (de Hoon, Vink, & Schmeets, 2020).…”

Who Wants to Become Italian? A Study of Interest in Naturalisation among Foreign Migrants in Italy

“…In contrast to this instrumental approach, other recent studies explain interest or lack thereof by underlining the influence of identity and sense of belonging. These studies demonstrate that decision-making about naturalisation is not driven by ‘strategic choices’ alone (Donnaloja, 2020 ; Erdal et al, 2018 ). Sense of belonging remains an essential element in the decision; migrants are aware that, along with its advantages, naturalisation requires a significant commitment to integrate into the foreign society (Anil, 2007 ; Midtbøen et al, 2020 ).…”

Party System Polarization, Citizenship, and Immigrant Party Allegiances in Western Europe

“…2 Citizenship may also moderate the relationship between party polarization and partisanship acquisition for more symbolic reasons. Naturalization is sometimes considered an expression of belonging or loyalty to a country (e.g., Birkvad 2019;Pogonyi 2019;Donnaloja 2020). In line with this view, some studies suggest that naturalization motivates immigrants to become more attentive to their adopted homeland's political and socio-economic realities in forming their political orientations and policy preferences (Röder and Mühlau 2011;Just and Anderson 2015).…”