Elites britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise et participation politique : un test de l'hypothèse culturelle - article ; n°2 ; vol.14, pg 51-69

Marie-Antoinette Hily, Shamit Saggar, Marco Martiniello

Description

Revue européenne de migrations internationales - Année 1998 - Volume 14 - Numéro 2 - Pages 51-69
Elites britanicas de origen indo-paquistaní y participación política : un test de la hipótesis cultural.
Shamit Saggar.
El artículo examina los argumentos y los elementos en relación con el debate sobre la importancia política de las minorías étnicas en el sistema político británico, centrándose en la participación política de millón y medio de británicos de origen indo-paquistaní. El artículo se basa en los datos originales publicados por « the British Election Study » en 1997, para describrir las caracteristicas generales del compromiso electoral de los indopaquistanies. Se ponen de relieve diversas orientaciones de comparación, entre esta minoría y las otras, pero también en el seno de la población indopaquistani, que se encuentra muy diversificada. El artículo examina, además, el papel específico jugado por las élites paquistaníes, políticas y no-politicas, en el debate sobre la importancia de la participación électoral de los indopaquistanies. Por último, el artículo présenta la participación política de los indopaquistanies, en el contexto de los desarrollos ideológicos de los principales partidos políticos. La discusión considera el debate sobre la especificidad política de los indopaquistanies en la determinación de sus actitudes y de sus comportamientos políticos.
Elites britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise et participation politique : un test de l'hypothèse culturelle.
Shamit Saggar.
L'article examine la participation politique du million et demi de Britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise. Il repose sur des données originales tirées de la British Election Study de 1997 pour décrire les caractéristiques générales de l'engagement électoral des Indo-Pakistanais. Plusieurs lignes de comparaison sont mises en évidence entre cette minorité et les autres mais aussi au sein de la population indo-pakistanaise qui est très diversifiée. L'article étudie aussi le rôle spécifique joué par les élites indo-pakistanaises, politiques et non-politiques, dans le débat sur l'importance de la participation électorale des Indo-Pakistanais. Enfin, l'article discute la participation politique des Indo-Pakistanais dans le contexte des développements idéologiques des principaux partis politiques. La discussion rouvre le débat au sujet de la spécificité politique des Indo-Pakistanais et en particulier, au sujet du rôle des valeurs culturelles des Indo-Pakistanais dans la détermination de leurs attitudes et de leur comportement politiques.
British South Asian Elites and Political Participation : Testing the Cultural Thesis.
Shamit Saggar.
The article examines the arguments and evidence surrounding the debate over the political importance of ethnic minorities in the British political System and focuses especially on the political participation of the Britain's 1.5 million South Asians. Drawing on fresh and original evidence provided by the 1997 British Election study, the article describes the board characteristics of Asian electoral involvement, highlighting several lines of comparison between Asian and other ethnic minority groups as well as within the diverse Asian population. Thereafter the article turns to look at the specific role played by Asian political and non-political elites both in setting and responding to the terms of the evaluative debate over the importance of Asian electoral-based participation. Finally, the paper puts forward a discussion of Asian participation in the context ideological developments within the major political parties. This discussion effectively reopens the question of Asian political distinctiveness and in particular the debate over the role of Asian cultural values in shaping political attitudes and patterns of behaviour.
19 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Informations

• Publié par: REVUE_EUROPEENNE_DE_MIGRATIONS_INTERNATIONALES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1998
• Nombre de lectures: 8
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Shamit Saggar
Elites britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise et participation
politique : un test de l'hypothèse culturelle
In: Revue européenne de migrations internationales. Vol. 14 N°2. Immigrés et minorités ethniques dans l'espace
politique européen. pp. 51-69.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Saggar Shamit. Elites britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise et participation politique : un test de l'hypothèse culturelle. In:
Revue européenne de migrations internationales. Vol. 14 N°2. Immigrés et minorités ethniques dans l'espace politique
européen. pp. 51-69.
doi : 10.3406/remi.1998.1631
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/remi_0765-0752_1998_num_14_2_1631Resumen
Elites britanicas de origen indo-paquistaní y participación política : un test de la hipótesis cultural.
Shamit Saggar.
El artículo examina los argumentos y los elementos en relación con el debate sobre la importancia
política de las minorías étnicas en el sistema político británico, centrándose en la participación política
de millón y medio de británicos de origen indo-paquistaní. El artículo se basa en los datos originales
publicados por « the British Election Study » en 1997, para describrir las caracteristicas generales del
compromiso electoral de los indopaquistanies. Se ponen de relieve diversas orientaciones de
comparación, entre esta minoría y las otras, pero también en el seno de la población indopaquistani,
que se encuentra muy diversificada. El artículo examina, además, el papel específico jugado por las
élites paquistaníes, políticas y no-politicas, en el debate sobre la importancia de la participación
électoral de los indopaquistanies. Por último, el artículo présenta la participación política de los
indopaquistanies, en el contexto de los desarrollos ideológicos de los principales partidos políticos. La
discusión considera el debate sobre la especificidad política de los indopaquistanies en la
determinación de sus actitudes y de sus comportamientos políticos.
Résumé
Elites britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise et participation politique : un test de l'hypothèse
culturelle.
Shamit Saggar.
L'article examine la participation politique du million et demi de Britanniques d'origine indo-pakistanaise.
Il repose sur des données originales tirées de la British Election Study de 1997 pour décrire les
caractéristiques générales de l'engagement électoral des Indo-Pakistanais. Plusieurs lignes de
comparaison sont mises en évidence entre cette minorité et les autres mais aussi au sein de la
population indo-pakistanaise qui est très diversifiée. L'article étudie aussi le rôle spécifique joué par les
élites indo-pakistanaises, politiques et non-politiques, dans le débat sur l'importance de la participation
électorale des Indo-Pakistanais. Enfin, l'article discute la participation politique des Indo-Pakistanais
dans le contexte des développements idéologiques des principaux partis politiques. La discussion
rouvre le débat au sujet de la spécificité politique des Indo-Pakistanais et en particulier, au sujet du rôle
des valeurs culturelles des Indo-Pakistanais dans la détermination de leurs attitudes et de leur
comportement politiques.
Abstract
British South Asian Elites and Political Participation : Testing the Cultural Thesis.
Shamit Saggar.
The article examines the arguments and evidence surrounding the debate over the political importance
of ethnic minorities in the British political System and focuses especially on the political participation of
the Britain's 1.5 million South Asians. Drawing on fresh and original evidence provided by the 1997
British Election study, the article describes the board characteristics of Asian electoral involvement,
highlighting several lines of comparison between Asian and other ethnic minority groups as well as
within the diverse Asian population. Thereafter the article turns to look at the specific role played by
Asian political and non-political elites both in setting and responding to the terms of the evaluative
debate over the importance of Asian electoral-based participation. Finally, the paper puts forward a
discussion of Asian participation in the context ideological developments within the major political
parties. This discussion effectively reopens the question of Asian political distinctiveness and in
particular the debate over the role of Asian cultural values in shaping attitudes and patterns of
behaviour.Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 1998 (14) 2 pp. 5 1 -69 5 1
British South Asian Elites
and Political Participation :
Testing the Cultural Thesis
Shamit SAGGAR
INTRODUCTION
Across Europe, Britain is commonly viewed as exemplifying relatively strong
signs of ethnic minority political integration. By this claim is meant that minorities ' in
Britain, after a sluggish start in the 1960s and 1970s, rapidly emerged as highly active
and received tangible spoils in the electoral-based system of representation.
Additionally, with only minor exceptions, rates of formal registration and turnout have
compared impressively with those of their white counterparts, with only circumstantial,
class-related factors driving small pockets of electoral abstention. Finally, it has also
been noted that genuine electoral spoils have begun to accrue to the minority
communities, both at the level of minorities successfully elected at local and national
Senior Lecturer in Government. Quenn Mary and Westfield College-University of London.
The term « ethnic minority » is used in this paper to denote people of South Asian, African and
Caribbean origin living in Britain, and is used interchangeably with the term « minority ».
Where greater delineation is required, as with specific South Asian component groups,
allowances and departures from this convention are clearly signalled. Additionally, the
reader's attention is drawn to the delineation of the ethnic minority population in the British
Election Study (data from which is cited severally in this paper) into five main groups ; these
are formally shown in the relevant tables. The BES data did not extend to ethnic Chinese or
Indo-Chinese groups, though some members of these groups may have been picked up under
« Asian other » category and therefore added to the miscellaneous heading.
There are major intellectual debates surrounding race and nomenclature, few of which can be
fully resolved within the parameters of this paper. No particular political or sociological
inferences should be drawn from the convention adopted in this paper. However, it is hoped
that the narrative incorporated into the use of these data might help to throw some additional
light onto the debate. 52 Shamit SAGGAR
levels and in terms of ethnic-based electoral leverage. This picture is usually
associated with an upbeat view of the representative strength of minorities in British
politics and certainly endorses the idea that ethnicity is something of permanent, stand
alone cleavage on the political map of the country. In part, it is also a normative
argument, anchored in an assessment of the potential of ethnic minorities to wield
electoral muscle.2
Against this claim, it must be said, exists something of a counter-perspective.
This rival school argues that, although minority political mobilisation has come a long
way in the course of thirty years, it remains constrained by a combination of
demographics (i.e. there are not enough numbers to really make a difference) and the
huge geographic clustering of minority communities (i.e. they are excessively
concentrated in safe, one-party seats and therefore not aggressively courted by political
parties). This downbeat interpretation, therefore, concludes that the chances of long
slim.3 In addition, term ethnic allegiances shaping electoral representation are fairly
claims of electoral leverage are often vastly exaggerated, not least by the normative
arguments of those holding vested interests. Finally, and rather dismissively, this
school concludes that the lion's share of minority political and policy advancement has
been the result of the activities and influence of benevolent white liberals, especially,
but not restricted to, those on the left of British politics.
As is often the case, there are elements of irrefutable evidence and sound
argument to be found in both perspectives. However, in the short run at least, an
important paradox needs to be tackled. On the one hand, it is clear that significant
strides forward have been taken by minorities in the Britain's electoral-based system of
political representation. To be sure, it has become a standard, recognised feature of
British electoral campaigns for political parties to pursue high profile efforts to attract
minority support. Most recently in the 1997 general election the Conservatives
displayed the full rigour of their ethnic campaign, repeating and exten