Young Generations' Activism in Italy: Comparing Political Engagement and Participation of Native Youths and Youths from a Migrant Background

Abstract

Focusing on individuals aged 14–35 still living with their family of origin, we compare the political activism of Italian natives with their first and second-generation migrant peers. We based our analysis on two different national household surveys, carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in 2011–2012: the survey 'Condizione e integrazione sociale dei cittadini stranieri' [Condition and Social Integration of Foreign Citizens] and 'Aspetti della vita quotidiana' [Multipurpose Survey on the Aspects of Everyday Life]. Our results revealed that natives are more likely to be involved in politics compared to their migrant peers. However, the migrant background is not a factor negatively affecting youth participation or involvement in politics in itself. The gap with native is fully explained by differences in socio-economic background and family political socialisation. When these aspects are controlled, data suggest that no differences exist in participation to most time-consuming acts (such as taking part in political meetings, demonstrations, participation in a political association, etc.). More of it, young people with migrant backgrounds are more likely to be engaged in activities that reflect a general interest in politics, such as discussing politics, seeking information on Italian politics, and listening to political debates, compared to their native counterparts.

The 5W+1H of Second-Generation Activism: Narratives from Below

“…(2) As already highlighted in the analysis, the #ItalianiSenzaCittadinanza social movement arose with the goal of obtaining the reform of the Italian citizenship law as it does not allow youths with a migrant background to access certain socio-economic and educational resources (Pilati, 2018), underlining its public role as single-issue reform movement (Pellizzoni, 2014;Egorov, 2015). The research highlights the importance of changing this law but also of achieving a general cultural change (Milan, 2022;Riniolo and Ortensi, 2021;Sarli and Phillimore, 2022). The movement's collective actions and relative outcomes could, therefore, be seen as acts of "citizenship from below" (Ambrosini, 2016(Ambrosini, , 2020: the #ItalianiSenzaCittadinanza activists claim and press for institutional decisions following their own interests, acting rationally and expressing mobilization in matters in which the State has failed to intervene.…”

“…Within the movement, the main purpose of collective actors is not only to support the movement, but also the alliance between different subjectivities, giving life to a combined but strong collective identity of the #ItalianiSenzaCittadinanza. Therefore, solidarity and identification among the members of the movement (a new collective identity composed of different souls) blends with the common reasons to claim something that one does not have, and to which one thinks one is entitled, such as the resolution of social, political, cultural and identity issues, as in part already highlighted in the literature (Milan, 2022;Pilati, 2018;Riniolo and Ortensi, 2021;Sarli and Phillimore, 2022).…”

“…In Italy, the acquisition of Italian citizenship also emerges as a cultural and identity issue (Riniolo and Ortensi, 2021). Contemporary European societies, where cultural challenges have gained momentum, are often described as being ethnically segregated, but they also feature convivial multicultural mingling and everyday interactions (Wise and Noble, 2016).…”

Special Dossier: Everyday practices of citizenship and identity among migrant descendants in Italy

“…In fact, while Italy is a country of more recent immigration compared to others, the number of immigrants' children aged between 0-35 years has reached about 3 million (Riniolo, 2020) and native-born with immigrant parents quadrupled over the last decade (OECD/EU 2018). Hence, the country is now facing the challenge of a significant number of "secondgeneration" young adults who claim their rights and are engaged and interested in politics similarly to their native peers (Macaluso et al, 2020;Milan, 2022;Riniolo, 2019;Riniolo and Ortensi, 2021). Indeed, Italy has been the stage of variegated initiatives organised by young migrant descendants in recent years: between 2016 and 2018, many young migrant descendants drew significant attention in public debates as a consequence of their diversified mobilisations regarding the reform of the Italian citizenship law (Law n. 91 of 1992) (see Daher and Nicolosi in this special issue; for accounts of older mobilisations, see Zinn, 2011).…”

Political Engagement of the Russian Speakers in Finland

“…Because of disparities in socioeconomic background and familial political socialization, Riniolo and Ortensi (2020) have argued that Italian natives are more likely to be interested in politics than their first-and second-generation migrant contemporaries. Young people from migrant backgrounds are more likely to engage in activities that reflect a general interest in politics, such as discussing politics, seeking information on Italian politics, and listening to political debates, than their native counterparts, who, if restrictions do not exist, are likely to attend political meetings, demonstrations, or join a political association.…”