Ethnic Identity

This paper explores the socio-psychological aspects of British national identification among British South Asians, which constitutes the largest ethnic minority group in Britain. Identity Process Theory can elucidate the social and psychological ‘functions’ of Britishness for social actors, offering a holistic account of national identification within this population. The paper provides a discussion of nationhood and the construction of national identity, temporal factors in national identification, its cognitive and affective aspects, the psychological ‘functionality’ of Britishness, and its social representations. It is argued that a civic, instrumental conception of Britishness might facilitate access to this identity among British South Asians.

This paper examines national and ethnic discourses within Singaporean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the ambiguities and dichotomies characterising Singaporean national and ethnic identity. Singapore is represented officially as a multi-ethnic state with a Chinese majority which claims to integrate minority groups such as Indians and Malays successfully, and it boasts a generalised Singaporean culture and identity that supposedly embrace the racial and ethnic diversity of the population. However, Singapore also hosts tensions and conflicts associated with such diversity. This paper examines workplace discourses which address tensions and congruencies. The paper is based on research conducted between April 2002 and May 2003, involving 50 SMEs representing various sectors of the economy and constituting various ethnicities. The research found that, while discourses on ethnicity and nationality may be characterised as somewhat shifting and fluid, the respondents present their identities as rather fixed. Primordial ties rather than postmodern multiplicity may better characterise discourses among the workers and owners of Singaporean SMEs.

"This article defines the concept of country in terms of spaces enclosed within each other: city within province and province within country. This structure was necessary in understanding the territorial origins of the "Other". Within the frame of a research dealing with the construction of ethnocultural "otherness", the authors examined this concept and its evolution with age among students in a multicultural elementary school in Montreal. The authors found that the concept of country develops along with two complementary and indissociable processes: from a non-differentiation of territory spatial components toward their differentiation, and that moving from an unclear global space with unrelated parts to a structure whose parts are significantly related.

Cet article définit la construction de la notion de pays en termes d'espaces emboîtés : ville dans province et province dans pays. Cette construction se révèle indispensable pour saisir l'origine territoriale de l'Autre. Dans le cadre d'une recherche portant sur la construction de l'altérité ethnoculturelle, les auteurs ont étudié cette construction chez les élèves (de la première à la sixième année) d'une école primaire multiculturelle de Montréal et son évolution avec l'âge. Il ressort que la notion de pays se développe au long de deux processus complémentaires et indissociables : celui d'une indifférenciation des compartimentations spatiales du territoire vers leur différenciation et celui qui va d'une globalité spatiale confuse, dont les parties ne sont pas objectivement reliées, à un ensemble dont les parties sont significativement interreliées."

This study explores how a group of British South Asians (BSAs) understood, defined and evaluated languages associated with their ethnic and religious identities, focusing upon the role of language in the negotiation and construction of these identities and particularly upon strategies employed for coping with identity threat. Twelve BSAs were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. Participants’ accounts were explored through the interpretative lens of identity process theory. Four superordinate themes are reported: “Maintaining a sense of distinctiveness through language use”, “Exclusion of others and personal claims of belonging”, “Deriving a sense of self-esteem from the knowledge of one’s threatening position” and “Two identities, two languages: Searching for psychological coherence”. While identity principles may be cross-culturally universal, coping strategies are fluid and dynamic. Individuals will act strategically to minimise identity threat. Some of the coping strategies manifested by participants are discussed.

"""This paper aims to draw the attention on what is happening along Croatian border areas in terms of everyday life and enquire into the roles and meanings assigned to borders.
From July 1st, 2013, Croatia became the 28th Member State of the European Union. Though still not part of the Schengen area, it has contributed to the increase in length of the European external borders. Its border stretches along 2381 km and is the longest external border of a EU Member State1.
Despite the length of its borders, one of Croatia's peculiarities is that they – except the one with Hungary – are of very recent establishment, dating back to the collapse of Yugoslavia. They still allow the movement of people living in different countries: inhabitants of border regions continue to exchange and interact through everyday social practices, different border uses, commerce, and even conflicts. Though, borders' changing role is affecting border inhabitants' everyday habits.
The paper briefly discusses three border cases: the case of the Croatian-Slovenian dispute about their sovereignty over the Piran bay and a little portion of land south of river Dragonja; a Croatian waste management regulation with side effects abroad; and the case of Vukovar, a divided city with the need to establish identity borders. The aim is to address the following questions: why, notwithstanding the EU integration and globalization processes, there is still a firm need for clear and effective borders? What is happening in border areas at the local everyday level that can be hardly grasped at the policy making level?"""