Area 5
The politics of identity, cultural strategies, ethnic networking and transnational citizenship.

AMID Research Projects within Area 5:

Senior Project
Responsible for project: Ulf Hedetoft

Discourses and Images of Belonging: Migrants Between "New Racism", Liberal Nationalism and Globalization (Area 4 and 5)
The altered conditions for nationalism and the nation-state in the age of globalization impact both migration patterns and identity politics, in the process engendering new discourses and images of belonging. In the interstices between opposing tendencies, new "politics of belonging" formations, partly global and partly nationally specific, are cropping up across the political spectrum and across national boundaries. In this context, the project will pursue the following three specific objectives: 1.To develop a theoretical framework to explain salient configurations between nationalism, globalization and migration as they impact images and discourses of belonging and othering. 2. To explore patterns and processes in Europe and the USA, respectively, as regards discourses of immigration, multiculturalismand belonging, in a comparative perspective. 3. To analyze images and discourses of belonging in the Danish context and as they express themselves in current and historical debates about in- and well as emigration, in order to identify what’s specifically Danish about Danish migration debates and how this specificity springs from and impacts sentiments and politics of belonging.

PhD Project (September 1, 2001 to September 1, 2004)
Responsible for project: Kirsten Hviid
Responsible faculty: Annick Prieur (AAU) and Lars Holmberg (KU)

Immigrant Youth and Delinquency (Area 4 and 5)
This research project will be dealing with issues such as immigrant youth, sub-cultural lifestyles and identity-formation, socialisation and socio-economic strategies, crimes and media-coverage, public opinion and stereotyping.

Surveys conducted by Statistics Denmark, published in 1998, show a proportionally higher crime-rate amongst populations of non-Danish/European origin, vis-à-vis the populations of Danish/European origin. Especially the so-called second generation immigrants of non-European origin has a proportionally higher crime-rate compared to similar age groups with a Danish/European background. Results deriving from this survey have initiated a major debate both within the Government and political parties, the media as well as at the local governmental level to take action and initiate programs. This survey as well as some incidents like rape and violence committed by groups of teenagers with immigrant background has been used by the right-wing parties and the media to create an image of the typical second generation immigrant as a prototype of a criminal operating in gangs. Local people demand more control, police and higher penalties for crime committed by this youth group.

However, this statistical material does not take into account various factors which could have important implications for the differences accounted for. Socio-economic factors such as levels of employment, housing, schooling and education, family and social network, are important aspects when considering crime-rates and must be taken into account when dealing with crime-rates among immigrants. Researchers have proved that other important factors contribute to a higher rate of arrest among immigrants resulting from police practices, such as stereotyping as a way of operating towards suspects.

This research project will be dealing with these factors and focus upon important aspects of youth sub-cultural lifestyles and gender identity. This lifestyle can be seen as a response to socio-economic conditions and a way to create a space and place within a life-world which does not offer any prospects for a socially and economically secure future within the boundaries of the family nor the state.

The project will be based on empirical studies amongst youth groups within two major urban settings in Denmark: Aalborg and Karlebo. In both of these two areas a significant population of immigrants in social public housing is situated. This project will be dealing with statistical and qualitative data, based on interviews, observations, surveys, and public research programmes within both national and international social studies.

Senior Project
Responsible for project: Flemming Mikkelsen

The Political Mobilization of Ethnic Minorities in Denmark, - Seen in an International and Transnational Perspective (Area 2 and 5)
The way in which ethnic minorities mobilize politically to safeguard their interests in the struggle and competition for resources, rights and ideals forms the cognitive basis for the present project. Against the background of an extensive empirical registration of ethnic minorities’ formal and informal organizations and movements it should be possible to shed light on some central conditions for the mobilization of the ethnic minorities in Denmark from the middle sixties to the present day.The research comprises four analytical concepts: The structure of opportunities internationally, transnationalism, mobilization, and the national political structure of opportunities. Thus, the different concepts refer both to the international and international conditions for political mobilization, to the transnational flow of economic, social and cultural resources, and to the strategies that groups, organizations and movements utilize to strengthen their mobilization and further their interests. The results from Denmark will be compared with similar research in other European countries.

Post.Doc. Project
Responsible for project: Garbi Schmidt

Social Activism Among Young Muslims in Denmark, With a Comparative Analysis of Similar Trends in Sweden and the United States (Area 5)
The purpose of this project is to describe second- and third-generation immigrants to whom a religiously defined Muslim identity has become the nucleus of extrovert social activism. Most of these youngsters are educated in a Western intellectual tradition, they are socially and politically well informed, and they are skilled propagators in news media and on the Internet.The phenomenon of Muslim youth activism is not only seen in Denmark, but in other Western countries too. Therefore the project includes shorter periods of fieldwork in Sweden and the United States, to find out if the various (national) groups create networks across borders; and if they gain models for action and organization as well as ideological inspiration from each other. The project will seek to throw light on identity-forming processes, political, social, spatial and linguistic engagement and objectification in the host society, as well as the relationships between youngsters and adults in Muslim immigrant groups. Data collection will take place through interviews and participant observation in settings such as after-school programs, NGOs, grassroots and student associations--all run by Muslims and addressing what they believe to be the social and ideological needs of the host society and minority community.