Perceived Discrimination, Ethnic Identity and the (Re-) Ethnicisation of Youth with a Turkish Ethnic Background in Germany

Abstract

Previous discussion of the opportunities for young people with an ethnic minority background to integrate into society has focused on advantages or disadvantages caused by human capital or by ethnically motivated, individual, group or institutional discrimination within society. However, in recent years there has been a growing interest in subjectively or collectively perceived discrimination and its effects on ethnic identity and (re-)ethnicisation. This paper reports on the processes involved in the (re-)ethnicisation of young people with a Turkish ethnic background which results from perceived personal and group discrimination. A discrimination/(re-)ethnicisation pathmodel is proposed where perceived discrimination influences the perceived nonpermeability of group boundaries and ethnic identity. This results in a direct and positive effect on (re-)ethnicisation. Analyses of empirical investigations partly support the model, in accordance with which perceived personal and group discrimination produce direct effects on the perceived non-permeability of group boundaries and indirect effects on ethnic identity and (re-)ethnicisation. Against the model proposed here, perceived personal and group discrimination have a direct impact on (re-)ethnicisation. The ProblemFrance, December 2005: young men, mainly of ethnic minority background, demonstrate and riot in the suburbs of Paris, setting vehicles and buildings on fire.

Education and Cultural Integration among Ethnic Minorities and Natives in The Netherlands: A Test of the Integration Paradox

“…In France, on the contrary, the odds that more-educated migrants identify with France rather than with their own ethnic group are higher than among less-educated migrants (Abu-Rayya 2007). In Germany, Skrobanek (2009) found only a small negative correlation between level of education and ethnic identification.…”

“…Emphasising ethnic identity is one of the possible strategies to turn a negative social identity into a positive one. Skrobanek (2009) sees constraints imposed on ethnic minorities by discrimination as obstructing the maintenance and development of a positive social identity and, in consequence, as stimulating ethnic re-vitalisation. As such, perceived discrimination would lead to a stronger opposition towards ethnic intermarriage and a stronger identification with the ethnic origin group.…”

‘Having a German passport will not make me German’: reactive ethnicity and oppositional identity among disadvantaged male Turkish second-generation youth in Germany

“…Relatively newer studies including disadvantaged Turkish immigrant youth have unveiled the contradictory pathways of identification that they follow. Skrobanek (2009) has focused on descendants of Turkish immigrants who have attended a type of disadvantaged lower secondary school, the Hauptschule. He found a strong re-ethnicization, resulting from the perceived personal and group discrimination.…”

“…Recently, several studies on ethnic retention and integration -such as Diehl and Schnell (2006), Skrobanek (2009), and Ersanilli and Koopmans (2011) -have somewhat advanced discussions about the notion of reactive ethnicity in Germany. Yet, these studies suffer from two general shortcomings.…”

Perceptions of Discrimination: What Do They Measure and Why Do They Matter?

“…Sociological studies look at whether minority members who feel discriminated against identify more strongly with their country of origin or less strongly with their host country (deVroome et al 2014, Diehl et al 2016, Jasinskaja-Lahti et al 2009, Martinovic and Verkyten 2012, Skrobanek 2009, Verkuyten and Yildiz 2007, are more likely to plan to return to their country of origin (San Pierre et al 2015), are more religious and slower to acculturate Phalet 2012, Maliepaard andAlba 2016), are more involved in transnational activities (Snel at al 2016), are more politically involved (Fischer-Neumann 2014, Fleischmann et al 2011, have less trust in mainstream institutions (Röder and Mühlau 2012), have fewer native friends (Schacht et al 2014), or show higher levels of criminal behavior (Burt et al 2012). Studies rarely focus on the link between PD and integration in the educational system (Berkel et al 2010) or the labor market (Koopmans 2016), partly because these aspects of integration can be investigated more reliably using census rather than other survey data, and the former does not include measures of perceived discrimination.…”