Civic,ethnic, hybrid and atomised identities in Central and Eastern Europe

While the topic of identity of ethnic minorities abounds in theoretical insights, most discussion is still clustered around the civic–ethnic divide while assuming conclusions with limited empirical evidence. By contrast, this article uses a four-category typology of identity that considers both in-group and out-group attachments to address hypotheses about competing identities and about factors influencing minorities to adopt one identity type over others. Based on unique data evidence of 12 ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe, this study concludes that the ‘hybrid’ identity, rather than the literature-assumed ‘ethnic’ identity, tops the identification preference of minorities, although there are differences in levels and patterns when controlling for various covariates. The choice of identity depends on the socialisation process, the economic status, the perceived discrimination and intergroup tensions, reflecting variations in the system of values common to a region with complex ethnic dynamics.     

Formation of European identity: ethnic minority groups in Central and Eastern Europe in generational perspective

Research into European identity has mostly focused on majority populations in Western European countries, neglecting new member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as well as ethnic minority groups. This paper contributes to filling this gap by exploring and investigating processes of European identity formation of five ethnic minority groups in four CEE countries. A generational perspective was applied by conducting qualitative in-depth interviews with three generations of ethnic minority group members. The results support the instrumental approach of identity construction. In all minority groups researched, the young generation, due to more positive personal experiences and perceived benefits from the European Union, have developed more positive images and perceptions of Europe and a greater sense of European identity than older generations. Furthermore, ethnic group-specific processes of identity formation were found.     

Media consumption and self-identification: Hungarian and Slovak case study

The media impact on the process of ethnic identification, particularly with regard to how ethnic minority individuals reflect upon their ethnic origin, is the focus of this article. We analyse the relationships media consumption has with the identity-reflection process using biographical narratives of individuals from two ethnic minority communities in Eastern European countries: Slovaks in Hungary and Hungarians in Slovakia, focusing on how media consumption channels ethnic self-identification of minority individuals in terms of their affinity with their country of origin, their country of residence, and with Europe as a whole. Ethnic minorities in these two countries have been intensely affected by political changes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We include analysis of some quantitative data and biographical narratives of ethnic minority individuals from the ENRI-EAST project, with close analysis of six biographical cases.     

How national identification matters: the development of European identification among established ethnic minority groups

Based upon the data from qualitative studies of eight national minorities between the Baltic and the Danube, this article investigates the formation of European identification among members of the minority groups representing ‘split nations’ along the new eastern borders of the enlarged EU. The analysis reveals mechanisms of the formation of supranational identification by focusing on the relationships between subnational, national and European identifications to ascertain the degree of interconnectedness of these identification levels. These relationships are examined in the context of the potential impact of perceived ethnic conflict and utilitarian expectations of socio-economic and cultural gains from the process of European integration.     

Conflicting and Reinforcing Identities in Expanding Europe: Individual‐ and Country‐Level Factors Shaping National and European Identities, 1995–20031

This study examines how, within the context of the expansion of the European Union, various multi‐level factors circumscribe individuals’ national and European identity. Focusing on the differential impact of new opportunities that Europeanization offers to people with different backgrounds, we propose hypotheses regarding the effects of individuals’ geopolitical, ethnic, class, and national historical backgrounds on their national and European identity. Drawing on theories on sociopolitical identities, we hypothesize that minorities are more likely to identify with the European Union, but are less likely to identify with their nation and that more local lower‐level geopolitical attachments can enhance broader higher‐level ones. We also combine these individual‐level arguments with macro‐level theories and examine the impact of country‐level factors such as having a communist past, the duration of EU participation, and the levels of economic development and international integration. We test these hypotheses using ISSP survey data from 15 European countries for the years 1995 and 2003. Overall, the results support our predictions about minorities’ identification patterns and about the reinforcing relationships between local and macro identities in general. Our macro‐level analyses indicate different effects in postcommunist nations than in Western‐democratic states, indicating widespread disillusionment with the European Union in postcommunist countries.     

Cultural hybrids or ethnic fundamentalists? discourses on ethnicity in Singaporean SMEs

This paper examines national and ethnic discourses within Singaporean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the ambiguities and dichotomies characterising Singaporean national and ethnic identity. Singapore is represented officially as a multi‐ethnic state with a Chinese majority which claims to integrate minority groups such as Indians and Malays successfully, and it boasts a generalised Singaporean culture and identity that supposedly embrace the racial and ethnic diversity of the population. However, Singapore also hosts tensions and conflicts associated with such diversity. This paper examines workplace discourses which address tensions and congruencies. The paper is based on research conducted between April 2002 and May 2003, involving 50 SMEs representing various sectors of the economy and constituting various ethnicities. The research found that, while discourses on ethnicity and nationality may be characterised as somewhat ‘shifting’ and ‘fluid’, the respondents present their identities as rather fixed. Primordial ties rather than postmodern multiplicity may better characterise discourses among the workers and owners of Singaporean SMEs.     

Rwanda's ‘Hutsi’: intersections of ethnicity and violence in the lives of youth of ‘mixed’ heritage

This article looks at young Rwandans of ‘mixed’ Hutu–Tutsi heritage, exploring how their mixed identity shaped their experiences during the 1994 genocide and how it influences their everyday experiences of categorization and belonging in contemporary Rwanda. It reveals the complex position of these young ‘Hutsi’ and the significant constraints they face in exercising identity choices in a context with a history of ethnic violence and where state policies have outlawed ethnicity. This article argues that the experiences, narratives and performances of these young Rwandans simultaneously challenge and reinforce the binary ‘ethnic logic’ that persists in contemporary Rwanda. Yet it suggests that providing space for Rwanda's ‘Hutsi’ and their diverse experiences could help to de-essentialize the categories ‘Hutu’ and ‘Tutsi’ and reduce the risks of future violence.     

Sexual and gender identity work on social media

How do sexual and gender minorities use social media to express themselves and construct their identities? We discuss findings drawn from focus groups conducted with 17 sexual and gender minority social media users who shared their experiences of online harms. They include people with gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, asexual, non-binary, pansexual, poly, and kink (LGBTQ+) identities. We find that sexual and gender minorities face several challenges online, but that social media platforms provide important spaces for them to feel understood and accepted. We use Goffman's work to explore how sexual and gender minorities engage in ‘front region’ performances online as part of their identity work. We then turn to Hochschild's concepts of ‘feeling rules’ and ‘framing rules’ to argue that presentations of self, or front region performances, must include the role of feelings and how they are socially influenced to be understood.     

Understanding ethnic visibility through language use: the case of Taiwan Hakka

This study investigates how the ethnic visibility of Taiwan Hakka is improved through language use. The usage of a unique Hakka symbolic code <nganggiang stiff neck> is focused on. Based on data from the four Taiwan major newspapers, an analysis with text techniques shows that the code emerges along with social-political developments in Taiwan, with its meaning turning from negative to positive connotation. Its frequency is highly correlated with major political events in Taiwan, with peaks during the two or three years before presidential elections. It illustrates semiotic innovation, extending from Hakka to Hakka non-human, to non-Hakka, and to non-Hakka non-human frames. The salient image it creates increases Hakka ethnic visibility and enhances their ethnic identity. A significant implication is that minority ethnic groups can employ a unique symbolic code, empowering it with positive connotation. Through extensive language use, its representation can raise their ethnic visibility and enhance their ethnic identity.     

State-initiated development and the Reang ethnic minority in Tripura (North East India)

This paper explores the wider implications of state-led development on the Reang ethnic minority in the North East Indian state of Tripura, and in doing so presents a critical view on such development endeavours. Basing itself on the study of the relationship between the state and the ethnic minorities, this research argues the following: – first, most state-led development programmes are formulated on a preconceived notion of ‘backwardness’ in the ethnic minorities. Second, state-led development projects create internal fissures and ruptures within ethnic minorities on issues of what constitutes development. Third, often, state-led development programmes create an image of oneself as inherently ‘backward’, whereby the conditioning of the mind plays an important role in extending the desire of the members of an ethnic minority to achieve this ‘imagined modernity’.     

Minority status and schooling—John U. Ogbu’s theory and the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe

This paper discusses the relevance of John U. Ogbu’s cultural‐ecological theory regarding the variability in educational performance of different ethnic minority groups against the background of comparative data on the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe. Aside from cultural differences and institutional barriers, it addresses the impact of minority group status and community forces on educational achievement. The author calls for more comparative ethnographic research in European countries in order to generate a better understanding of the similarities and differences in educational experiences between various ethnic groups.     

The Renewal of an Ethnic Tradition and Its Role in Shaping the Kurds Immigrants’ Identity

The article discusses the Seharane celebrations of the Jews of Kurdistan whose immigration to Israel is a case of ‘ethno-national homecoming’. The immigrants from Kurdistan express an Israeli identity in the public renewal of these celebrations. Their leaders demanded a right to ethnic otherness that is included in Israeli society, and attempted to position themselves anew within the national space. The syncretic dynamics that were created indicate that ethnic traditions continue to serve as a resource for minority groups of immigrants and their offspring, and that a liberal state must afford their customs public legitimisation and must recognise their leaders.     

A Qualitative Study of Middle Eastern/Arab American Sexual Minority Identity Development

The development of one's sexual minority identity is often stunted by a heterosexist society. For individuals with multiple minority oppressions, this process becomes even more complicated. As such, there has been a call among researchers for more empirical research on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups. This study uses qualitative methods to fill gaps in the literature related to identity development among same-gender attracted Middle Eastern/Arab individuals living in the United States. From 12 interviews, 13 themes associated with intersectionality, race/ethnicity, sexual identity development, discrimination, stigma, oppression, and invisibility. Themes, subthemes, and their implications are discussed.     

Influence of Age on Transracial Foster Adoptions and Its Relation to Ethnic Identity Development

In the United States, ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the foster care system and underrepresented among potential adoptive parents. The need to find permanent homes for foster children has led to an increase in the controversial practice of transracial adoption (TRA), wherein ethnic minority children are placed in adoptive homes with Caucasian parents. While many child welfare scholars and dependency stakeholders support TRA as a positive alternative to foster care, others are concerned that such adoptions may inhibit the ethnic identity development of transracially adopted children. This article documents the large number of ethnic minority children who are adopted through TRA prior to the onset of ethnic identification and how age influences which children are adopted out of foster care. The findings indicate that young ethnic minorities are significantly more likely to be adopted through TRA compared to older children, an effect especially prominent among African Americans. Implications for the child welfare system are discussed.     

Constructions of Europe in the run-up to the EU referendum in the UK

The paper reports findings from a focus group study on representations of Europe, conducted in England in the run-up to the UK EU referendum. Four themes were identified in the analysis: ‘cultured Europe’; ‘little Europe/global Britain’; ‘Europe as a cultural threat’; and ‘Eastern vs. Western Europe’. Analysis of these themes showed that Europe was an ambivalent identity category that could encapsulate contrary ideas such as cosmopolitanism/isolationism and cultural enrichment/undermining. Europe’s relation to Britain was also ambivalent in the data. Britain could be positioned as superior to Europe, sometimes being seen as closer to the ‘European essence’ in the context of the EU’s eastward expansion, which was seen as diluting European culture. But, Britain could also be seen as backward compared to the idea of cosmopolitan continental Europe. These different lines of argument and their ideological underpinnings are explored in the discussion of the findings.     

Ethnic minorities' reactions to newcomers in East London: Symbolic boundaries and convivial labor

In much public discourse on immigrants in Western Europe, perceptions towards newcomers are discussed in relation to what white national majorities think. However, today, new migrants often move into places which are already settled by previous migrants. This article investigates the local experiences, perceptions, and attitudes towards newcomers among long-established ethnic minorities in an area which they have made their home, and where they predominate not just in numbers but also by way of shops, religious sites, school population, and so on. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in East London (UK), it looks at long-established ethnic minority residents’ attitudes towards newcomers from Eastern Europe, and how these are shaped by their own histories of exclusion. By bringing together theories on symbolic boundary making with the concept of “convivial labor,” it shows how experiences of stigmatization impact on perceptions of white newcomers, and how these perceptions are characterized by a combination of empathy and resentment.     

Identity,dislocation and belonging: Chinese/European narratives of mixedness in Aotearoa/New Zealand

With over 10% of the population identifying with multiple ethnic groups, identities in New Zealand are increasingly complex. This article explores identifications of individuals of mixed Chinese and European descent: the ways in which personal location, classification and race influence feelings of belonging within and between multiple ethnic groups. The fluidity and diversity of the New Zealand context and the resulting positioning of ‘mixed race’ provide an interesting counterpoint to the comparatively well-studied American and British contexts. Drawing on 20 interviews with individuals of mixed descent, this research highlights how individual identity diverges from official classification and how this dissonance is understood through experiences of dislocation and belonging. ‘Mixedness’ is negotiated and enacted in many ways, as individuals find ways to belong in the face of wider dislocation, intertwining aspects of heritage, experience, community and nation.     

A Christian identity for the liberal state?

It seems to be impossible for the liberal state to embrace a Christian identity, because ‘liberalism’ is exactly a device for separating state and religion. Discussing the implications of a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights, Lautsi v. Italy (2011), I argue that this is not necessarily so. If paired with a liberal commitment to pluralism, a Christian identity might even be more inclusive of minority religions than a narrowly ‘liberal’ state identity, which has been the dominant response in Western Europe to the challenge of immigrant diversity, especially that of Muslim origins.     

Ethnic Mobilization in south Tyrol: A primordial identity in crisis

South Tyrol and the German minority are portrayed as one of the most successful forms of ethnic mobilization in Western Europe. Its distinct historic roots and the related symbolic codes of collective identity formation can be seen as a classical example for territorially‐based minority politics. On the basis of a constructivist approach the thesis is developed that the primordial collective identity, dominant in South Tyrol, has generated very particular patterns of ethnic mobilization and conflict. On the one hand, it has secured the intransigent protest of the German population fighting an enforced Italianization ‘ over decades. On the other hand, however, this firm of collective identity is simultaneously fostering the recent crisis of ethnic politics in South Tyrol. The more general argument is made that in highly modem, European‐oriented society a primordial understanding of ethnic loyalty is no longer able to provide stable patterns of social integration and political loyalty. In this respect, the South Tyrolean case is interpreted as an example of how primordial patterns of collective identity and related political mobilization tend to lose their firm base in highly modern society.