Do citizenship regimes shape political incorporation? Evidence from four European cities

This article examines how different formal citizenship regimes fare in achieving the political integration of immigrants and their children by looking at turnout in local elections. We analyse survey data from four European cities—Geneva, London, Oslo and Stockholm—that grant voting rights to foreig...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: González Ferrer, Amparo, Morales Diez de Ulzurrun, Laura
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::8421cde96225566b1b37d30698ab2857
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/93148
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Inmigration
Citizenship
Electoral Participation
Immigrant generations
Local Elections
Turnout
Descrição
Resumo:This article examines how different formal citizenship regimes fare in achieving the political integration of immigrants and their children by looking at turnout in local elections. We analyse survey data from four European cities—Geneva, London, Oslo and Stockholm—that grant voting rights to foreigners at the local level but are located in countries with contrasting rules for access to formal citizenship. Our results indicate that local voting gaps are larger where citizenship rules are more restrictive, which supports the hypothesis that formal citizenship regimes — mostly determined by national legislation — have long-lasting effects on the electoral participation of immigrant-background individuals, even when eligibility is extended to foreigners. Moreover, we find only marginal differences between generations once citizenship status is taken into account, which runs against the assimilation hypothesis and confirms the pervasive effects of citizenship regimes on political integration outcomes.