Race, Ethnicity and Migration

Transcription

1 CHAPTER COMMENTARY This chapter opens with an account of South Africa s transition from an apartheid state to a multi ethnic democracy. Particular importance is given to the role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an example of the importance of communication and dialogue, openness and honesty in addressing the dangerous consequences of racial hatred. This theme returns as the chapter closes, looking forward to a cosmopolitan future. Race is understood as a category that is real in its effects in social life. The history of race science is discussed and its biological basis discounted but it is recognized that biologically grounded features continue to be used as the basis for the distribution of power and resources between groups in society. The process by which understandings of race are used to classify individuals and groups is termed racialization. Ethnicity refers to the cultural practices and outlooks of a given community of people that set them apart from others. Ethnicity is a wholly social phenomenon, learned through processes of socialization and central to many in the formation of individual and social identities. It is explained that minority group and ethnic minority refer to a group s minority status as disadvantaged compared with the population as a whole rather than to the statistical incidence of the groups within that population. The distinction is drawn between prejudice as opinions and attitudes formed on the basis of selective use of information rooted in stereotypical thinking and often a form of projection, displacement or scapegoating and discrimination, which refers to actual behaviour directed towards a group. It is therefore possible to discriminate without being prejudiced and to be prejudiced without discriminating although in practice the two are often linked in various more or less direct ways. Racism is the belief that some individuals are superior or inferior to others based upon a racialized understanding of socially significant physical distinctions. Racism is commonly thought of as an attribute of an individual, but recently there has been much discussion of the idea of institutional racism: that institutions such as the education or health services promote policies which favour certain groups above others. This is linked to the example of the Stephen Lawrence case and the findings of the Macpherson Report, which is given Classic Study status here as its impact has been significant for later debates on public services. The concept of biological race has in many ways gone underground, except in the case of politically extreme groups. There has, however, been a growth of so called new racism, where groups are deemed inferior and discriminated against on the basis of their culture or lifestyle. Anti racist theorists in the 1980s tended to use the term black to describe all members of ethnic minority groups in order to emphasize the shared experiences of racism; Polity Press 2013 This file should be used solely for the purpose of review and must not be otherwise stored, duplicated, copied or sold

2 today the trend is to emphasize the differences between ethnic minority groups and the huge cultural diversity within Britain s minority populations. An understanding of psychological processes can help to illuminate why prejudice is present in so many cultures, but they do not explain the culturally specific dimensions of prejudice or the processes of discrimination. Ethnic discrimination is a social act built around ethnocentrism, the evaluation of all cultures in terms of one s own; group closure, the creation of a group identity protected by forming boundaries between us and them ; and, resource allocation, the attempt to secure a greater share of a society's material and political resources for one s own in group. Some Marxist scholars have seen racism as a capitalist tool in the exploitation of labour. Later neo Marxism sees a more mediated relationship between race, racism and the formation of ethnic minority and working class identities. From the mid 1980s, a new conflict perspective called critical race theory (CRT) developed, which sees itself as a form of activism as much as theorizing, seeking to intervene to transform unequal relations between ethnic groups. Critical race theories contend that racism is not a deviation from the non racist norm but is the everyday normal experience for people of colour, and argue that, given their history and experience, minority ethnic groups are uniquely able to articulate what racism means to its victims, and thus they make extensive use of narrative and biographical methods to give voice to those who experience racism and thus bring this to the attention of scholars. Many states are characterized by multi ethnic populations. Three models of ethnic integration are considered. Assimilation seeks to remove ethnic diversity by socializing all individuals into the dominant culture. The melting pot approach suggests an even mixing of different cultural traditions into a new norm. Cultural pluralism argues for an acceptance of diversity, whilst multiculturalism adds to this that diversity should be on the basis of equality with different ethnically based cultures coexisting in a single society, not only protecting a range of traditional cultures, but also celebrating the emergence of new, distinctive hybrid cultures produced through the experience of pluralism. Scapegoating and prejudice continue, however. Within the context of European societies facing rapid social change and characterized by tension and anxiety, a lack of integration on whichever model remains a social problem. Critics of multiculturalism raise concerns about the potential for ethnic segregation if states enable, for example, separate schooling and curricula. There has been controversy in several European countries in recent years which have retreated from multiculturalism, for example in relation to the banning the wearing of the burka and niqab in public places. An alternative is what we can call sophisticated multiculturalism. This perspective emphasizes the importance of national identity and national laws, but also the fostering of connections between different social and ethnic groups. Ethnic diversity is now a commonplace feature of most developed societies, though many minority ethnic groups face discrimination in a variety of spheres of life. Recent findings analysing employment patterns by ethnicity point to this diversity and discrimination. For instance, in the UK the overrepresentation of Pakistani and Bangladeshi men in manual work remains and women from these groups are underrepresented in paid work outside the home. However, African Asian and Chinese groups are no longer disadvantaged compared with the white majority. South Asians have achieved much through self employment a statistic behind which lies a great deal of hard work in family enterprises which often involve long hours for limited rewards. Although members of ethnic minority groups are progressing in professional positions, they seem subject to a glass ceiling when striving for the very top and the TUC has found discrimination against workers from minority groups in promotion to supervisory or managerial positions. 134

3 Ethnic minority groups tend to experience discrimination, harassment and material deprivation in housing too, although again this is a far from unified picture. Those of Indian origin have a high level of home ownership, whilst many other groups are clustered in substandard or social housing, a factor that is linked to chronic illness and unemployment. Since the 1960s members of ethnic minority groups have also been overrepresented in the criminal justice system and experience a higher rate of custodial sentence than non whites. At all levels, the criminal justice system is staffed primarily by members of the white majority group and, despite the recommendations of the Macpherson Report, police forces are failing to recruit in significant numbers from the minority populations. In many European societies, ethnic minority groups suffer as victims of often racially motivated crime and yet are often adversely affected by new policing strategies and do not trust the police or get the protection they need. The global expansion of Western style liberal democracy and the free market is argued by some to lessen ethnic conflict and inequality. However, there is contrary evidence to suggest that the importation of these forms into ethnically divided societies without strong civil society can have the effect of increasing rather than lessening ethnic inequality and tension. The chapter now turns to ethnic conflicts around the world. Events in the former Yugoslavia are highlighted as an example of ethnic conflict involving the creation of ethnically homogenous areas through ethnic cleansing (the forced relocation of populations through violence and campaigns of terror), which is distinguished from genocide, the systematic elimination of an ethnic group. The twentieth century witnessed organized genocide on an unprecedented scale and several examples are included here including Global Society Box 16.2 on the genocide in Rwanda. From here, we move on to explore shifting patterns of migration in an age of globalization. Migration in continental Europe has tended to be from rural areas in the south to industrial areas in the north. The former colonial powers have all also experienced inward migration from the former colonies. Following the collapse of the Iron Curtain there is now a significant new migration from east to west. Ethnic unmixing in the countries of the former Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia and to some extent Central Europe has also seen significant movements of people. Within the European Union citizens have the right to work in any member state; those taking advantage of this tend to be the highly qualified and well paid. Four models of migration are identified which describe the main population movements since 1945: the classic model of countries such as Australia which developed as nations of immigrants ; the colonial model, where immigration from former colonies is encouraged or tolerated; the guest worker model, typified by Germany, where immigrants are recruited as workers but gain no citizenship rights within the host country; and the illegal model, where, due to restrictions on legal immigration, economic migrants and political refugees live illegally in foreign countries. British history is then used as a specific case study. Immigration to and within the UK has a long history. Irish, Jewish and Black communities in Britain pre date the Industrial Revolution but were given new impetus by it. Industrialization and urbanization also saw migration from rural to urban areas and notably from the Celtic fringe to English cities. In the years prior to the Second World War, many European refugees fleeing persecution settled in Britain. Following 1945, in response to a national labour shortage, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries. Since the 1960s successive legislation has limited immigration, impacting most on those from the former colonies. Three major pieces of legislation have been enacted since 1998 which make it more difficult to satisfy conditions for asylum, regulate the actions of asylum seekers within the country and enhance the requirements for those seeking citizenship. Policy on immigration is a politically potent issue and politicians continue to play on the fears of an electorate that consistently 135

4 overestimates both the number of immigrants and asylum seekers in the country and the proportion of the whole population that they represent. Debate grows about the impact of immigration (or the mis perception of immigration) upon social solidarity especially as represented by the population s commitment to the welfare state. Most members of ethnic minority groups in Britain today are not migrants but were born in the UK and have full citizenship rights. Most statistics on ethnicity are now collected on the basis of self classification, which makes comparisons across time and between studies difficult. European expansionism initiated a global movement of populations, linking countries and creating ethnic diversity within them. Immigration and emigration produce global migration patterns which have intensified in the last fifty years and these are explored via Castles and Miller s Classic Study (16.2). The processes of migration can be discussed in terms of the push factors that encourage people to leave their country of origin and the pull factors that encourage them towards particular destinations. Four tendencies in recent migration patterns are identified: acceleration, diversification, globalization and feminization. Another way of thinking about migration is through the concept of diaspora, the dispersal of an ethnic population from an original homeland into foreign areas, often in a forced manner or under traumatic circumstances. Cohen identifies five basic types: victim diasporas, labour diasporas, trading diasporas, imperial diasporas and cultural diasporas. The analysis of diaspora is complex and contested, but certain common characteristics are identified: movement from a homeland; shared collective memory of the original homeland and a belief in the possibility of return; a strong ethnic identity sustained over time and distance; a sense of solidarity with other members of the group, however scattered; a degree of tension with host societies; and the potential to make creative contributions to the host societies. TEACHING TOPICS 1. Us and them : the processes of prejudice and discrimination The chapter draws the important distinction between prejudice and discrimination. Whilst prejudice can be seen as a psychological state, albeit shaped by culturally available beliefs, the second can be interpreted as a social practice. This theme expands upon these distinctions. 2. Models of integration The chapter considers three models of possible futures for ethnic relations within Britain: assimilation, melting pot and cultural pluralism. Whilst government tends to emphasize the first, leaders among ethnic minority groups tend to emphasize pluralism. This topic reinforces this section, paying particular attention to the formation of new cultural identities. 3. Ethnicity and inequality Patterns of inequality among minority ethnic groups are more complicated than a simple comparison of all ethnic minority groups with the white majority would suggest. This topic encourages students to consider the evidence presented in this chapter and elsewhere in Sociology, to look more broadly for additional information. 136

5 ACTIVITIES Activity 1: Us and them : the processes of prejudice and discrimination Read the section Prejudice and discrimination (pages 680 1), making notes of the definitions of these two basic concepts. The chapter discusses the psychological processes of displacement and projection. Here are two extracts that go into these ideas in a bit more detail: With the split of both the self and the world into good and bad objects, the bad self is distanced and identified with the mental representation of the bad object. This act of projection saves the self from any confrontation with the contradictions present in the necessary integration of bad and good aspects of the self. The deep structure of our own sense of self and the world is built upon the illusionary image of the world divided into two camps, us and them. They are either good or bad. (S. Gilman quoted in Stuart Hall, The West and the rest: discourse and power, in S. Hall and B. Gieben (eds), Formations of Modernity, Cambridge: Polity in association with the Open University, 1992, p. 309) Inclination to prejudice is not uniformly distributed. It has been observed time and again that some people are particularly prone to perceive the world in terms of sharp, irreconcilable oppositions, and resent passionately anyone who is or seems to be different from themselves. Such a disposition manifests itself in racist attitudes and actions or, more generally, in xenophobia, the hatred of everything foreign. People who entertain high levels of prejudice are normally also stringently and compulsively on the side of uniformity. They are ill prepared to endure any deviation from strict rules of conduct and hence favour a strong power capable of keeping people in line. People characterized by this set of attitudes are said to possess an authoritarian personality. (Zygmunt Bauman, Thinking Sociologically, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990, pp. 47 8) A. These processes would seem to account for prejudice and the psychological reasons why prejudice is acted out through other groups in society rather than simply remaining an idea inside someone s head. Indeed, these processes are unconscious and the prejudiced person may not even consciously be aware of them as ideas and be quite shocked at the idea that s/he is prejudiced. 1. Of which other prejudices, besides racism, could these processes form the psychological basis? 2. Why are psychological explanations unable to account for patterns of discrimination and inequality in society? B. A contrasting account of racial discrimination starts from a very different point: the institutional structures of society: The assertion and evidence of institutionalized racism in the 1970s [saw] racism not as an individual prejudice but as a material and ideological force permeating in different ways the major institutions of society, schools, workplaces, police and so on. (Fiona Williams, Social Policy: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge: Polity, 1989, p. 87) 137

6 Institutional racism has been defined thus: The concept of institutional racism emerged in the United States in the 1960s in order to challenge the idea that racial inequality was merely the result of the attitudes of a few, pathologically prejudiced, white people. It aimed to draw attention to the systematic, structural character of racism which had its roots in the organization of societies like Britain and the United States. In practice, the term is used in a variety of ways, some of which stress intentionality and some of which see manifestations of institutional racism in any pattern of disadvantage which affects people who are not white. (David Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 9) 1. How could the idea of institutional racism account for discrimination in the absence of prejudice? Activity 2: Models of integration The section Ethnic integration, diversity and conflict introduces a number of models of integration. A. Read this section and make notes to ensure that you are clear about the important terms assimilation, melting pot, cultural pluralism and multiculturalism. Many authors have written about this topic and its effect upon cultural identities. Given below are extracts from four books and a series of questions to help you link this new material back to the chapter. B. The first extract comes from a report on an in depth study with 74 people into the meaning of their ethnic background for members of the main minority groups in the mid 1990s. The predominant term of self identity amongst the Caribbean respondents was black, though slightly more common amongst the first generation was West Indian and, amongst the second generation, hyphenated terms like Afro Caribbean had replaced West Indian and some made reference to British, as in black British. Black is now firmly established as a term of positive self identification, colour having replaced specific island origins, and being allied to a pan Caribbean identity. For colour is the conspicuous difference noted by white British and the basis of exclusion. Some second generation respondents thought of themselves as black British even while appreciating that the white British did not necessarily accept this sharing of an identity. Two respondents, however, felt that a colour identity was too restrictive and could not encompass the totality of their identity. This study, then, shows how ethnic identity, far from being some primordial stamp upon an individual, is a plastic and changing badge of membership. Ethnic identity is a product of a number of forces: social exclusion and stigma and political resistance to them, distinctive cultural and religious heritages as well as new forms of culture, communal and familial loyalties, marriage practices, coalition of interests and so on. Hence, the boundaries of groups are unclear and shifting, especially when groups seek to broaden an ethnic identity or to accommodate membership in a number of overlapping groups. And this leaves out the broader social, economic and political forces. What is clear is that, while considerable cultural adaptation has taken place and is still taking place, the predictions of an unproblematic assimilationist 'melting pot' have proven to be sociologically naive. Minority ethnicity is neither simply a racist attribution nor a set of private practices but, symbolically and materially, has become a feature of British society 138

7 with all that implies for public identities, political solidarities and competition for resources. It also means a rethinking of Britishness and the varieties and forms that it can encompass. (Tariq Modood, Sharon Beishon and Satnam Virdee, Changing Ethnic Identities, London: Policy Studies Institute, 1994, pp. 114, ) 1. How do the ethnic identities which the respondents expressed provide evidence that neither assimilation nor the melting pot has occurred? 2. Is there any evidence here of the formation of new cultural diversity created by the experience of ethnic groups in Britain? C. In an overview article, Stuart Hall here identifies three broad responses to ethnic relations within a multicultural society: The strengthening of local identities can be seen in the strong defensive reaction of those members of dominant ethnic groups who feel threatened by the presence of other cultures. In the UK, for example, such defensiveness has produced a revamped Englishness, an aggressive little Englandism, and a retreat to ethnic absolutism in an attempt to shore up the nation and rebuild an identity that coheres, is unified and filters out threats in social experience (Sennett) It is sometimes matched by a strategic retreat to more defensive identities amongst the minority communities themselves in response to the experience of cultural racism and exclusion. Such strategies include re identification with cultures of origin (in the Caribbean, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan); the construction of strong counter ethnicities as in the symbolic identification of second generation Afro Caribbean youth, through the symbols and motifs of Rastafarianism, with their African origin and heritage; or the revival of cultural traditionalism, religious orthodoxy and political separatism, for example, amongst some sections of the Muslim community. There is also some evidence of the third possible consequence of globalization the production of new identities. A good example is those new identities which have emerged in the 1970s, grouped around the signifier black, which in the British context provides a new focus of identification for both Afro Caribbean and Asian communities... (Stuart Hall, The question of cultural identity, in S. Hall, D. Held and T. McGrew (eds), Modernity and Its Futures, Cambridge: Polity in association with the Open University, 1992, pp ) 1. Make a list of all the different cultural identities mentioned in this extract. 2. What new white identity has developed within a multicultural Britain? 3. How can members of Afro Caribbean and Asian communities both share a cultural identity and assert their differences from each other? D. In an overview of sociological approaches to the study of race and ethnicity, David Mason discusses an approach associated with Fredrik Barth and Sandra Wallman: Ethnicity is then situational. The implication is that people have different ethnic identities in different situations. Their salience is affected by such factors as the distribution of desired resources and the objectives of the people concerned. Thus it is possible to be simultaneously English, British, and European, stressing these identities more or less strongly in different aspects of daily life. Similarly, the same person might identify as Gujerati, Indian, 139

8 Hindu, East African Asian, or British depending on situation, immediate objectives, and the responses and behaviour of others. (David Mason, Race and Ethnicity in Modern Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 13) 1. This view can be seen to both challenge and support accounts of assimilation, melting pot and cultural pluralism. How can this be the case? E. The final extract comes from a novelist rather than an academic: The effect of mass migrations has been the creation of radically new types of human being: people who root themselves in ideas rather than places, in memories as much as in material things; people who have been obliged to define themselves because they are so defined by others by their otherness; people in whose deepest selves strange fusions occur, unprecedented unions between what they were and where they find themselves. The migrant suspects reality: having experienced several ways of being, he understands their illusory nature. To see things plainly, you have to cross a frontier. (Salman Rushdie, The location of Brazil, in Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism , London: Granta Books, 1991, pp ) 1. How does this view of cultural fusion differ from the idea of the melting pot? Activity 3: Ethnicity and inequality Read the section, Ethnic diversity on pages Also look at Chapter 11 on Health and Chapter 20 on Education and identify the information they offer about ethnicity and inequality. This chapter refers to a report produced in March 2003 by the UK Prime Minister s Strategy Unit, Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market. You can access this report via The following is a slightly edited version of the summary of that report from the Commission for Racial Equality: Causes of racial inequality in the labour market The recent report identified the following causes of labour market disadvantage among ethnic minority groups: Human capital (defined as the sum of skill, knowledge, experience and educational qualifications a person possesses) is one of the most important supply side determinants of labour market outcomes. Children of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean descent, in particular, are likely to have low levels of human capital. In this respect, boys in all ethnic groups tend to do worse than girls. Geographical problems People from ethnic minorities are more likely to live in deprived areas. Approximately 70% of the ethnic minority population live in the top 88 deprived districts. In four out of five local authorities where there are significant concentrations of ethnic minority groups, the levels of business activity are lower than the national average, and this is likely to affect employment rates. Poor health can also limit ethnic minority participation in the labour market. Certain ethnic minority groups, through self reporting, are more likely to perceive their health to be poor compared to white people. This is particularly the case for people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent. 140

9 Lack of childcare provision can also prevent individuals, particularly women, from working. The concentration of ethnic minority groups in areas of disadvantage compounds the problem of those that need childcare. Studies have shown that, nationally, there were places per 100 children compared with only 6 8 places in disadvantaged wards. Low levels of mobility There is evidence to show that people from ethnic minority groups are less likely to travel over long distances to find work, that ethnic minority groups are more dependent on public transport, ant that these factors may contribute to higher unemployment. Racial discrimination After other factors have been taken into account, there are still significant disparities between ethnic minority groups and others, both in achievement in the labour market, and in income levels. People of Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent suffer particular disadvantage. Although difficult to qualify, one of the factors that research has identified as being responsible for this is racial discrimination (Commission for Racial Equality To help you think sociologically about the claims made in this extract, look back to chapter 2 s discussion of the kinds of question that are asked by sociologists. 1. Draw up a table which identifies from the above extract its factual, comparative, developmental and theoretical questions. 2. List the correlations which have been identified in this extract. 3. Looking at these correlations, what working theories do you have about the causes of these correlations? 4. Where have your working theories come from? 5. Formulate one of your working theories as a hypothesis and design a study which could test your hypothesis. REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Us and them Is it possible to be prejudiced without actually discriminating? How might an unprejudiced person find themselves acting in a way which discriminates? Models of integration Is assimilationism a form of ethnocentrism? What would an individual gain and lose from living in a melting pot culture? Is the hybridization of cultures and identities inevitable in the modern world? Ethnicity and inequality Why do we need to understand history to understand contemporary patterns of ethnic antagonism? What are the advantages and disadvantages of thinking of ethnic minorities as a single social group? Should there be limits on immigration? If yes, what should they be? How do inequalities of race relate to social class inequalities? How is the experience of ethnicity shaped by gender? 141

10 ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. In what ways does the understanding of contemporary patterns of ethnic antagonism demand an understanding of psychological, historical and social processes? 2. Discuss the view that what it means to be black or white depends upon the society in which you live. 3. What patterns of ethnic inequality are evident in contemporary Britain? 4. What are the sources of the plurality of cultural identities in contemporary Britain? MAKING CONNECTIONS Us and them The processes of prejudice and discrimination discussed here could equally well be applied to other dimensions of social inequality, and doing so in a comparative way could help students to think through the relationships between social and psychological processes. Examples which could work particularly well are disability from Chapter 11, sexuality from Chapter 15 and religious fundamentalism from Chapter 17. Models of integration Issues of migration and multiculturalism can be linked directly to the theme of globalization in Chapter 4. Examples which can illustrate the tensions inherent in both assimilationist and pluralist strategies can be drawn from the chapters on education (Chapter 20), the media (Chapter 18) and religion in modern society (Chapter 17). Ethnicity and inequality Sections that explicitly and directly address questions of ethnicity and inequality occur in Chapter 23 on nations and nationalism, Chapter 11 (see the section Ethnicity and health ), and Chapter 20 (see the section Ethnicity and education ). Students can also be encouraged to look in other substantive chapters to see where trends have been considered in terms of ethnicity and the relationship between ethnicity and other sources of social inequality for example, in the discussion of ageing in Chapter

11 SAMPLE SESSION Models of integration Aims: To introduce the categories assimilation, melting pot, and cultural pluralism and consider them in the context of contemporary British society. Outcome: By the end of the session the student will be able to: 1. State definitions of assimilation, melting pot and cultural pluralism. 2. Apply these categories to the analysis of contemporary British society. Preparatory tasks Read the section Ethnic integration, diversity and conflict and make notes of definitions of the terms assimilation, melting pot and cultural pluralism. Classroom tasks 1. Tutor to hand out Activity and collate the students prepared answers to Task A as the three definitions should remain on a board/flip chart throughout the session. (5 minutes) 2. Split the class into three groups: one to consider Task B, one Task C and one Tasks D and E. (20 minutes) 3. Tutor led feedback from the three groups. All students to make notes of the answers for all of the Tasks. (10 minutes) 4. Tutor led discussion returning to the definitions earlier established and linking them to the examples from Tasks B E. (15 minutes) Assessment task Essay: What are the sources of the plurality of cultural identities in contemporary Britain? 143