Practising Citizenship and Heterogeneous Nationhood : Naturalisations in Swiss Municipalities

Abstract

A m s t e r d a m U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s dissertatioNs imiscoe Practising Citizenship and Heterogeneous Nationhood IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion) IMISCOE is a Network of Excellence uniting over 500 researchers from various institutes that specialise in migration studies across Europe. Networks of Excellence are cooperative research ventures that were created by the European Commission to help overcome the fragmentation of international studies. They amass a crucial source of knowledge and expertise to help inform European leadership today.Since its foundation in 2004, IMISCOE has advanced an integrated, multidisciplinary and globally comparative research programme to address the themes specified in its name, short for: International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe. IMISCOE members come from all branches of the economic and social sciences, the humanities and law. The Network draws from existing studies and advances innovative lines of inquiry key to European policymaking and governance. Priority is placed on developing a theoretical design to promote new research and offer practical alternatives for sound policy.The IMISCOE -Amsterdam University Press Series was created to make the Network's findings and results available to researchers, policymakers, the media and the public at large. High-quality manuscripts authored by IMISCOE members and cooperating partners are published in one of four distinct series.Research Reports Dissertations TextbooksThe RESEARCH series presents empirical and theoretical scholarship addressing issues of international migration, integration and social cohesion in Europe. Authored by experts in the field, the works provide a rich reference source for researchers and other concerned parties.The REPORTS series responds to needs for knowledge within IMISCOE's mandated fields of migration research. Compiled by leading specialists, the works disseminate succinct and timely information for European policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders.The DISSERTATIONS series showcases select PhD monographs written by IMI-SCOE doctoral candidates. The works span an array of fields within studies of international migration, integration and social cohesion in Europe.The TEXTBOOKS series produces manuals, handbooks and other didactic tools developed by specialists in migration studies. The works are used within the IMISCOE training programme and for educational purposes by academic institutes worldwide.IMISCOE Policy Briefs and more information on the Network can be found at www.imiscoe.org. Practising Citizenship and Heterogeneous Nationhood Naturalisations in Swiss MunicipalitiesMarc Helbling IMISCOE Dissertations

Who Gets a Swiss Passport? A Natural Experiment in Immigrant Discrimination

“…While most of this work has focused on raceand gender-based discrimination in the labor market, our results demonstrate that naturalization decisions for resident aliens can be subject to similar types of discrimination, and that similar theoretical mechanisms provide explanatory leverage to account for this discrimination. Third, by comparing microlevel data about individual naturalization decisions across several municipalities, our study adds to the small but growing literature in immigration studies that has begun to examine outcomes and policies at the local level, where more focused comparisons are less vulnerable to biases from unobserved heterogeneity that often plague cross-national research (e.g., Adida 2011;Dancygier 2010;Helbling 2008;Hopkins 2010). Fourth, our findings add new empirical evidence to the extensive literature and policy debates about citizenship policies and the integration of already settled immigrants (e.g., Freeman 2004;Givens 2007;Hochschild and Mollenkopf 2009).…”

A honosítás jogintézményének alakulása az elmúlt húsz évben

“…Persze lehet, hogy az önkormányzatok beleszólásával még heterogénebb lenne az állampolgársági, honosítási rendszer. Másfelől ennek nem csak veszélyei 14 , de előnyei is lehetnének. Például a lassan kibontakozó kulturális pluralizmus, a vándorok igényeire reagáló integrációs programok révén létrejöhetne egy alulról felfelé haladó, decentralizált integrációs politika, mint Olaszországban, Hollandiában, Né-metországban, Kanadában.…”

Social distance and wage inequalities for immigrants in Switzerland

“…Similar to Germany, Switzerland belongs to the group of countries with an ethnic understanding of citizenship. This results in relatively restrictive naturalization policies (Helbling, 2008). One relevant aspect is certainly that only people who have lived in Switzerland for at least 12 years can apply for Swiss citizenship.…”