The effects of intergroup perceptions and ingroup identifications on the political participation of the second-generation Turkish migrants in the Netherlands

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Psikoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2007

Öğrenci: GÜLSELİ BAYSU

Danışman: BENGİ ÖNER ÖZKAN

Özet:

Through the lenses of Social Identity Theory, this thesis endeavours to understand how perceptions of intergroup relations and in-group identifications affect the choice for different mobility strategies and forms of political participation among the second-generation Turkish migrants in the Netherlands. To this end, two political participation paths are specified: ethnic and mainstream. The former is defined as promoting ethnic group interests in the political arena while the latter is defined as participation in national Dutch politics. Perceptions of illegitimate and unstable status differences, of impermeable group boundaries, and of discriminatory intergroup relations are expected to contribute to the choice for collective mobility strategy and ethnic political participation mediated by Turkish identification. Conversely, legitimate, stable and permeable intergroup conditions are hypothesized to lead to the choice for individual mobility strategy and mainstream political participation through affecting Dutch identification. Three path models including perceptions of legitimacy, stability, permeability and discrimination as predictors, Dutch and Turkish identification as mediators, mobility strategies as both outcomes and mediators, and ethnic and mainstream political participation as outcomes were tested in a sample of 161 participants. Results generally confirmed the expectations except for the stability hypothesis. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.