Highly Active Immigrants

Highly active citizens assume responsibility in politics and the civil society; for example, by organising social groups and activities, and lobbying on government policies. Although first-generation immigrant activists are a small minority in European societies, they are of critical importance for the receiving societies' democratic development. The POLITIS project conducted the first study that focused exclusively on this crucial group. This book both provides an overview of theoretical discussions and empirical conditions that frame immigrants' activities and presents the major results of the study based on extensive interviews with more than 170 immigrants active in 24 EU member states. The book's final section offers careful reflections on the study's results and considers implications for social scientists, policy makers, and activists in NGOs and immigrant organisations.

Autorentext

The Editor: Dita Vogel has done extensive comparative research on migration-related issues since the 1990s. She graduated in economics at the University of Cologne in 1989 and received her doctorate for a study on the fiscal impact of immigration at the University of Bremen in 1996. She was lecturer in Dutch Studies and conducted several research projects at the University of Oldenburg until 2007, lastly as international coordinator of POLITIS. She is research fellow at the Migration Research Group at the Hamburgisches WeltWirtschaftsInstitut.

Zusammenfassung
«The only book of its type, it is extremely useful in that it casts a new eye over the phenomenon of immigration.» (TBa, Bulletin Quotidien Europe)

Inhalt

Contents: Dita Vogel: Highly Active Immigrants in the Civil Society - An introduction - Ruby Gropas: Immigrants in Europe - How migration situations differ - Dirk Jacobs/Jean Tillie: Social Capital and Political Participation of Immigrants in Europe - Key developments in empirical studies - Mariya Aleksynska: Quantitative Assessment of Immigrants' Civic Activities - Exploring the European Social Survey - Dita Vogel: Data and Methods of the POLITIS Interview Study - Ankica Kosic: What Motivates Civic Participation Of Immigrants? Antecedents and experiences - Dita Vogel: Becoming Active in a New Country - In search of favourable activation conditions - Norbert Cyrus: Where Does It Start, Why Does It Change? Trajectory patterns of immigrants active in mainstream political parties - Ruby Gropas: Is Naturalisation a Factor in Immigrant Activism? - Anna Triandafyllidou: Are Europe and the European Union relevant for Immigrant Activism? - Carol Brown: Policy Visions and Recommendations of Civically Active Immigrants in the European Union - Fidèle Mutwarasibo/Dita Vogel: Reflections for Highly Active Immigrants - Norbert Cyrus/Doris Peschke: Winning Immigrants as Active Members - Recommendations for mainstream associations - Carol Brown/Dita Vogel: How to Improve the Institutional and Legal Framework - Recommendations for policymakers - Dita Vogel: Implications for Research Development.