L'explication du comportement électoral des migrants aux Pays-Bas. L'apport combiné de la recherche électorale et des études ethniques - article ; n°2 ; vol.14, pg 71-95

Marie-Antoinette Hily, Jean Tillie, Marco Martiniello

Description

Revue européenne de migrations internationales - Année 1998 - Volume 14 - Numéro 2 - Pages 71-95
La explicación del comportamiento electoral de los migrantes en los Países Bajos. A porte combinado de la investigación électoral y de los pestudios étnicos.
Jean Tillie.
El artículo se propone explicar el comportamiento electoral de los migrantes en las elecciones muicipales en los Países Bajos. Para realizar este estudio, se han combinado las perspectivas teóricas que resultan del campo de los estudios electorales (que revelan el hecho de que los migrantes son electores) y las perspectivas desarrolladas en el campo de los estudios étnicos (que insisten en el hecho de que los migrantes votan). Una de las conclusiones del artículo es que los migrantes combinan en su comportamiento electoral, ya sea una « identidad étnica » con una orientación ideologica, o una identidad « antiracista » con una preferencia ideológica por un partido.
L'explication du comportement électoral des migrants aux Pays-Bas. L'apport combiné de la recherche électorale et des études ethniques.
Jean Tillie.
L'article explique le comportement électoral des migrants aux élections municipales aux Pays-Bas. Pour ce faire, sont combinées les perspectives théoriques issues du champ des études électorales et les perspectives développées dans le champ des études ethniques. Une des conclusions de l'article est que les migrants combinent dans leur comportement électoral, soit une « identité ethnique » avec une orientation idéologique, soit une identité « antiraciste » avec une préférence idéologique pour un parti.
Explaining Migrant Voting Behaviour in the Netherlands. Combining the Electoral Research and Ethnic Studies Perspective.
Jean Tillie.
This paper explains migrant voting behaviour in Dutch municipal elections. To answer the question, theoretical perspectives from the field of electoral studies and perspectives developed in the field of ethnic studies are combined. One of the conclusions of the paper is that migrants combine, in their voting behaviour, either an « ethnic identity » with an ideological orientation or an « anti-racist » identity with ideological party preferences.
25 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: 22
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Jean Tillie
L'explication du comportement électoral des migrants aux Pays-
Bas. L'apport combiné de la recherche électorale et des études
ethniques
In: Revue européenne de migrations internationales. Vol. 14 N°2. Immigrés et minorités ethniques dans l'espace
politique européen. pp. 71-95.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Tillie Jean. L'explication du comportement électoral des migrants aux Pays-Bas. L'apport combiné de la recherche électorale et
des études ethniques. In: Revue européenne de migrations internationales. Vol. 14 N°2. Immigrés et minorités ethniques dans
l'espace politique européen. pp. 71-95.
doi : 10.3406/remi.1998.1632
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/remi_0765-0752_1998_num_14_2_1632Resumen
La explicación del comportamiento electoral de los migrantes en los Países Bajos. A porte combinado
de la investigación électoral y de los pestudios étnicos.
Jean Tillie.
El artículo se propone explicar el comportamiento electoral de los migrantes en las elecciones
muicipales en los Países Bajos. Para realizar este estudio, se han combinado las perspectivas teóricas
que resultan del campo de los estudios electorales (que revelan el hecho de que los migrantes son
electores) y las perspectivas desarrolladas en el campo de los estudios étnicos (que insisten en el
hecho de que los migrantes votan). Una de las conclusiones del artículo es que los migrantes combinan
en su comportamiento electoral, ya sea una « identidad étnica » con una orientación ideologica, o una
identidad « antiracista » con una preferencia ideológica por un partido.
Résumé
L'explication du comportement électoral des migrants aux Pays-Bas. L'apport combiné de la recherche
électorale et des études ethniques.
Jean Tillie.
L'article explique le comportement électoral des migrants aux élections municipales aux Pays-Bas. Pour
ce faire, sont combinées les perspectives théoriques issues du champ des études électorales et les
perspectives développées dans le champ des études ethniques. Une des conclusions de l'article est
que les migrants combinent dans leur comportement électoral, soit une « identité ethnique » avec une
orientation idéologique, soit une identité « antiraciste » avec une préférence idéologique pour un parti.
Abstract
Explaining Migrant Voting Behaviour in the Netherlands. Combining the Electoral Research and Ethnic
Studies Perspective.
Jean Tillie.
This paper explains migrant voting behaviour in Dutch municipal elections. To answer the question,
theoretical perspectives from the field of electoral studies and perspectives developed in the field of
ethnic studies are combined. One of the conclusions of the paper is that migrants combine, in their
voting behaviour, either an « ethnic identity » with an ideological orientation or an « anti-racist » identity
with ideological party preferences.Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 1998 (14) 2 pp. 71-95 71
Explaining Migrant Voting Behaviour
in the Netherlands.
Combining the Electoral Research
and Ethnic Studies Perspective
Jean TILLIE
1. INTRODUCTION
Since 1986 migrants are granted the right to vote in Dutch municipal
elections1. Apart from general legal restrictions, every non-Dutch citizen who legally
lives in the Netherlands for a continuous period of five years may cast his or her vote.
The granting of voting rights for municipal elections resulted from the minority policy
as it was formulated in 1983. One of the objectives of this policy was to create the
conditions for a successful emancipation and participation of migrants in Dutch society
(Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken, 1983, p. 10). One of these conditions was the
granting of voting rights in local elections. In the minority policy of 1983, participation
in municipal elections is thus linked to the emancipation of migrants in Dutch society :
the more migrants take part in municipal elections the greater their emancipation and
participation in Dutch society.
Since 1986 researchers have studied the turn-out and voting behaviour of
migrants in Dutch municipal elections (for a review refer to Gilsing 1991; Rath, 1990,
1991; Tillie, 1994; Tillie, 1998). From the perspective of the official 1983 minority
policy, especially the turn-out rates of migrants are of interest. The more migrants
participate in local elections the more they integrate in Dutch society. In this paper,
* Senior researcher at the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES). University of
Amsterdam.
1 Since 1985 they can participate in so-called « deelraads » (city-districts) elections. Jean TILLIE 72
however, I want to focus on the party preference of migrants and especially the
determinants of migrant voting behaviour.
The study of migrant voting behaviour is, from at least two perspectives, a
worthwhile endeavour. First, studying determinants of migrant voting behaviour
potentially informs us on the question of which migrants are represented by what party.
That is, what divisions in migrant communities are politically relevant. In this sense,
the study of migrant voting behaviour can yield insight into the relative importance and
the management of political conflicts in a multicultural society. For example, if religion
would be a strong determinant of the migrant vote, many minority issues would be
dealt with in religious terms. Further-more, issues related to religious questions would
be relatively important in the multicultural society.
A second reason to be interested in migrant voting behaviour is its relation to
(local) political power. In most electoral systems votes are transformed in
parliamentary or governmental seats. In this respect, studying determinants of voting
behaviour yields insight into determinants of local political power (especially in a
context where more and more citizens of large cities can be labelled 'migrants').
Political power is a central concept in political science, since it affects (among other
forms of power) the allocation of various kinds of goods in society (think of, for
example, freedom, income, health, employment, etc.). Studying determinants of voting
behaviour thus informs us on some of the determinants of allocation of important
political values in society.
The question I want to address is the following : how to explain migrant voting
behaviour in Dutch municipal elections. To answer this question I will combine
theoretical perspectives from the field of electoral studies (which emphasises the fact
that migrants are voters) and perspectives developed in the field of ethnic studies
(which emphasises the fact that migrants cast their vote and which has been the
dominant approach in the study migrant voting behaviour, refer to Rath, 1988, 1991).
First, I will discuss each of the perspectives separately. In section 2 the
electoral research perspective is presented, in section 3 the ethnic studies perspective is
discussed. In section 4 I will combine the two perspectives and deduce specific
hypotheses with respect to migrant voting behaviour determinants. These hypotheses
will be tested in section 5, using data which were collected in 1994 and 1998 (Tillie,
1994 ; Tillie, 1998, Van Heelsum, 1998). Up to 1994, research on migrant voting
behaviour focused predominantly on single cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam
(Pennings, 1987 ; Buijs and Rath, 1986 ; Rath, 1990 ; Boosten, 1990 ; Luyten, 1990).
The 1994 study was the first large scale research covering 7 Dutch cities. In 1998, 5
cities were studied.
2. MIGRANT VOTING BEHAVIOUR : THE ELECTORAL
RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE
If we focus on migrants voting, two theoretical perspectives from the field of
electoral studies can potentially be used to explain migrant voting behaviour. These
REMI 1998 (14) 2 pp. 71-95 migrant voting behaviour in the Netherlands 73 Explaining
perspectives may be labelled the « sociological » approach and the « economic »
approach to voting behaviour and are generally conceived as being two of the three
most important traditions in electoral research (refer, for example, to Kinder and Sears,
1985 ; Dalton and Wattenberg, 1993)2.
2.1 The sociological approach
In the individuals' voting behaviour is explained as
stemming from their membership of and self-identification as belonging to social
groups. Differences in party choice between social groups result from politicised and
institutionalised societal group conflicts (for example between workers and employers,
Catholics and Protestants, farmers and industrialists etc.). The degree of identification
with the social group reflects the intensity of the societal conflict and the influence of
socialising agents and social control. In this context, the so-called « cleavage » concept
is of special relevance (refer to Lipset and Rokkan, 1967 ; Bartolini and Mair, 1990), in
the summary of Gallagher, Laver and Mair (1992, p. 90-91) :
« First, a cleavage involves a social divis