Germanophobia in Switzerland

This paper considers two common assumptions that often arise in the empirical literature on xenophobia—namely that xenophobic attitudes are found mostly among the poorly educated, and that xenophbia mainly concerns immigrants from low social classes and from geographically and culturally disparate nations. These arguments will be discussed in the context of the migration of high-skilled Germans to Switzerland, a phenomenon that has increased markedly in the last few years, leading to major controversies. A survey conducted in the city of Zurich has shown that Germans are considered less likable than other Western Europeans. Over the course of my analyses, two arguments are tested. First, I consider whether the boundaries between culturally similar groups are actually less fragile than those occurring between more dissimilar groups. Following this line of reasoning, we consider whether Swiss-Germans’ popularly evoked “inferiority complex” towards Germans might lead Swiss-Germans to perceive German immigration as a cultural threat. Second, I consider whether well-educated people in high positions may feel threatened by new arrivals who are similarly welleducated. This rationale corresponds to the classic argument that working class people are xenophobic out of a fear that immigrants will take their jobs. Ultimately, this study finds empirical support for both arguments.Das Paper hinterfragt zwei in der Forschungsliteratur zu Fremdenfeindlichkeit gängige Annahmen und Befunde, die besagen, dass fremdenfeindliche Einstellungen vor allem unter gering gebildeten Angehörigen der Mehrheitsgesellschaft zu finden seien und sich in der Regel gegen Migranten aus unteren sozialen Schichten und aus geographisch wie kulturell fernen Ländern richten würden. Überprüft werden diese Annahmen im Kontext der deutschen Einwan-derung in die Schweiz, die in den letzten Jahren stark angestiegen ist und spür-bare Kontroversen ausgelöst hat. Eine in der Stadt Zürich durchgeführte Umfrage hat ergeben, dass Deutsche im Vergleich zu anderen Westeuropäern als weniger sympathisch angesehen werden. Zwei Argumentationen werden untersucht: Zum einen wird die Hypothese überprüft, dass Grenzen zwischen Gruppen, die sich kulturell sehr nahe stehen, nicht notwendigerweise leichter zu überwinden sein müssen. Der mitunter angeführte Minderwertigkeitskomplex der Deutsch- Schweizer gegenüber Deutschen könnte dazu führen, dass die deutsche Einwanderung als kulturelle Bedrohung empfunden wird. Zum anderen ist es auch möglich, dass sich Bessergebildete in höheren beruflichen Positionen durch vergleichbar gut gebildete Zuwanderer durchaus bedroht fühlen. Diese Hypothese entspricht dem klassischen Argument, dass Angehörige der Arbeiterklasse deswegen fremdenfeindlich sind, weil sie befürchten, ihre Jobs an Immigranten zu verlieren. Beide Hypothesen werden in dieser Studie empirisch belegt

Practising Citizenship and Heterogeneous Nationhood

Switzerland likely has the most particular naturalization system in the world. Whereas in most countries citizenship attribution is regulated at the central level of the state, in Switzerland each municipality is accorded the right to decide who can become a Swiss citizen. This book aims at exploring naturalization processes from a comparative perspective and to explain why some municipalities pursue more restrictive citizenship policies than others. The Swiss case provides a unique opportunity to approach citizenship politics from new perspectives. It allows us to go beyond formal citizenship models and to account for the practice of citizenship. The analytical framework combines quantitative and qualitative data and helps us understand how negotiation processes between political actors lead to a large variety of local citizenship models. An innovative theoretical framework, integrating Bourdieu's political sociology, combines symbolic and material aspects of naturalizations and underlines the production processes of ethnicity.Zwitserland heeft waarschijnlijk het meest uitzonderlijke naturalisatiesysteem ter wereld: staatsburgerschap wordt toegewezen op gemeentelijk niveau en niet vanuit de centrale overheid. Dit boek bestudeert naturalisatieprocessen vanuit een vergelijkend perspectief en probeert te verklaren waarom sommige gemeenten strengere regels hanteren dan anderen. Het Zwitserse voorbeeld geeft een unieke mogelijkheid om voorbij de formele staatsburgerschapmodellen te kijken

Germanophobia in Switzerland

"This paper considers two common assumptions that often arise in the empirical literature on xenophobia-namely that xenophobic attitudes are found mostly among the poorly educated, and that xenophobia mainly concerns immigrants from low social classes and from geographically and culturally disparate nations. These arguments will be discussed in the context of the migration of high-skilled Germans to Switzerland, a phenomenon that has increased markedly in the last few years, leading to major controversies. A survey conducted in the city of Zurich has shown that Germans are considered less likable than other Western Europeans. Over the course of my analyses, two arguments are tested. First, I consider whether the boundaries between culturally similar groups are actually less fragile than those occurring between more dissimilar groups. Following this line of reasoning, we consider whether Swiss-Germans' popularly evoked 'inferiority complex' towards Germans might lead Swiss-Germans to perceive German immigration as a cultural threat. Second, I consider whether well-educated people in high positions may feel threatened by new arrivals who are similarly well-educated. This rationale corresponds to the classic argument that working class people are xenophobic out of a fear that immigrants will take their jobs. Ultimately, this study finds empirical support for both arguments." (author's abstract)"Das Paper hinterfragt zwei in der Forschungsliteratur zu Fremdenfeindlichkeit gängige Annahmen und Befunde, die besagen, dass fremdenfeindliche Einstellungen vor allem unter gering gebildeten Angehörigen der Mehrheitsgesellschaft zu finden seien und sich in der Regel gegen Migranten aus unteren sozialen Schichten und aus geographisch wie kulturell fernen Ländern richten würden. Überprüft werden diese Annahmen im Kontext der deutschen Einwanderung in die Schweiz, die in den letzten Jahren stark angestiegen ist und spürbare Kontroversen ausgelöst hat. Eine in der Stadt Zürich durchgeführte Umfrage hat ergeben, dass Deutsche im Vergleich zu anderen Westeuropäern als weniger sympathisch angesehen werden. Zwei Argumentationen werden untersucht: Zum einen wird die Hypothese überprüft, dass Grenzen zwischen Gruppen, die sich kulturell sehr nahe stehen, nicht notwendigerweise leichter zu überwinden sein müssen. Der mitunter angeführte Minderwertigkeitskomplex der Deutsch-Schweizer gegenüber Deutschen könnte dazu führen, dass die deutsche Einwanderung als kulturelle Bedrohung empfunden wird. Zum anderen ist es auch möglich, dass sich Bessergebildete in höheren beruflichen Positionen durch vergleichbar gut gebildete Zuwanderer durchaus bedroht fühlen. Diese Hypothese entspricht dem klassischen Argument, dass Angehörige der Arbeiterklasse deswegen fremdenfeindlich sind, weil sie befürchten, ihre Jobs an Immigranten zu verlieren. Beide Hypothesen werden in dieser Studie empirisch belegt." (Autorenreferat

Practising citizenship and heterogeneous nationhood: naturalisations in Swiss municipalities

Switzerland likely has the most particular naturalization system in the world. Whereas in most countries citizenship attribution is regulated at the central level of the state, in Switzerland each municipality is accorded the right to decide who can become a Swiss citizen. This book aims at exploring naturalization processes from a comparative perspective and to explain why some municipalities pursue more restrictive citizenship policies than others. The Swiss case provides a unique opportunity to approach citizenship politics from new perspectives. It allows us to go beyond formal citizenship models and to account for the practice of citizenship. The analytical framework combines quantitative and qualitative data and helps us understand how negotiation processes between political actors lead to a large variety of local citizenship models. An innovative theoretical framework, integrating Bourdieu's political sociology, combines symbolic and material aspects of naturalizations and underlines the production processes of ethnicity.Zwitserland heeft waarschijnlijk het meest uitzonderlijke naturalisatiesysteem ter wereld: staatsburgerschap wordt toegewezen op gemeentelijk niveau en niet vanuit de centrale overheid. Dit boek bestudeert naturalisatieprocessen vanuit een vergelijkend perspectief en probeert te verklaren waarom sommige gemeenten strengere regels hanteren dan anderen. Het Zwitserse voorbeeld geeft een unieke mogelijkheid om voorbij de formele staatsburgerschapmodellen te kijken

Living in Cultural Diversity Views and Preferences in Germany. Bertelsmann Stiftung Religionsmonitor. English Summary. June 2018

Based on the data from the 2017 Religion Monitor, this special evaluation focuses on how people in Germany view successful coexistence in the presence of cultural and religious diversity. We explored this in a representative survey based on four typical approaches to living together in diversity: cultural adaptation of immigrants to the host society, the merging of different cultures and traditions (fusion), the preservation of different cultures, and the adaptation of the majority population to traditions of the immigrants. The goal was to determine, based on the preferences of respondents for a particular model, their views on how much one side ought to move toward the other, the two sides ought to move toward each other—or neither side should move toward the other

What is Islamophobia? Disentangling Citizens’ Feelings Toward Ethnicity, Religion and Religiosity Using a Survey Experiment

What citizens think about Muslim immigrants has important implications for some of the most pressing challenges facing Western democracies. To advance contemporary understanding of what 'Islamophobia' really is - for example, whether it is a dislike based on immigrants’ ethnic background, religious identity or specific religious behaviors - this study fielded a representative online survey experiment in the UK in summer 2015. The results suggest that Muslim immigrants are not per se viewed more negatively than Christian immigrants. Instead, the study finds evidence that citizens’ uneasiness with Muslim immigration is first and foremost the result of a rejection of fundamentalist forms of religiosity. This suggests that common explanations, which are based on simple dichotomies between liberal supporters and conservative critics of immigration, need to be re-evaluated. While the politically left and culturally liberal have more positive attitudes toward immigrants than right-leaning individuals and conservatives, they are also far more critical of religious groups. The study concludes that a large part of the current political controversy over Muslim immigration is related to this double opposition: it is less about immigrants versus natives or even Muslim versus Christians than about political liberalism versus religious fundamentalism

Social distance and wage inequalities for immigrants in Switzerland

This study investigates the impact of the social distance between immigrants and Swiss natives on wage inequalities. Social distance is assumed to be high when immigrants come from a different culture, a different education system and speak a different language. By combining these three aspects, this article goes beyond existing studies that only focus on cultural differences. The empirical findings indicate that, net of education, immigrants with a high or very high social distance from the receiving society are strongly disadvantaged in terms of their salaries. Additional analyses show that the impact of typical explanatory factors for labour market success such as education, citizenship and length of stay also vary by the degree of social distance between immigrants and their destination country. The analyses are based on data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey for the years 2010 and 2011, which allow for detailed analyses on individual immigrant groups due to oversampling

How state support of religion shapes attitudes toward Muslim immigrants: New evidence from a sub-national comparison

This article argues that governments play a considerable role in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward Muslim immigrants through the way they regulate religion. European democracies are far from secular, and matters of religious regulation cannot be reduced to abstract values or constitutional clauses. Under conditions of high state support of religion, accommodating new religious minorities involves not only the changing of existing rules but also giving up on long-standing traditions and everyday habits. As a result, citizens see religious newcomers as a threat to their way of life and react with animosity to their practices and demands. We support our argument by combining newly designed survey items with original data on religious regulation in 26 Swiss cantons. Our findings contradict the extant literature and have important implications for the democratic challenges in Europe, the quality of modern immigration societies, and the role of religion in democracy more generally

Attitudes towards climate change migrants

While climate change has become a salient political and social issue in Western societies, we know relatively little about how these societies will react to one of the potentially important consequences of climate change: increasing migration flows. By means of a representative online survey in Germany, this paper therefore investigates for the very first time to what extent citizens in industrialized societies are willing to accept climate change migrants, especially in comparison with other groups of migrants and refugees, and the circumstances and principles under which they would accept them. The findings show that climate change migrants receive high support levels comparable with those enjoyed by political refugees (migrants who need special protection) and that contrast with attitudes towards economic migrants (who are often not seen as in need of special protection). We also see that people are more likely to accept justifications for taking climate change migrants when they realize that the expected number of migrants is relatively low. While arguments about morality, corrective justice, and a country’s capacity lead to similar acceptance rates in general, the latter argument plays a more important role for highly educated people and non-environmentalists than the former two. The findings of this study allow us to better prepare for potential conflicts that might emerge with increasing migration flows caused by climate change

Sculpture virtuelle par système de particules

3D is emerging as a new media. Its widespread adoption requires the implementation of userfriendly tools to create and manipulate three-dimensional shapes. Current softwares heavily rely on underlying shape modeling, usually a surfacic one, and are then often counter-intuitive orlimiting. Our objective is the design of an approach alleviating those limitations and allowing the user to only focus on the process of creating forms. Drawing inspiration from the ancient use of clay,we propose to model a material in a lagrangian description. A shape is described by a particles system, where each particle represents a small fraction of the total volume of the shape. In this framework, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method enables to approximate physical values anywhere in space. Relying on this method, we propose a modeling of material with two levels, one level representing the topology and the other one describing local geometry of the shape.The SPH method especially enables to evaluate a density of matter. We use this property todefine an implicit surface based on the physical properties of the particles system to reproduce the continuous aspect of matter. Those virtual materials can then be manipulated locally through interactions reproducing the handling of dough in the real world or through global shape deformation. Our approach is demonstrated by several prototypes running either on typical desktop workstation or in immersive environment system.La 3D s'impose comme un nouveau média dont l'adoption généralisée passe par la conception d'outils, accessibles au grand public, de création et de manipulation de formes tridimensionnelles quelconques. Les outils actuels reposent fortement sur la modélisation sous-jacente des formes, généralement surfacique, et sont alors peu intuitifs ou limitatifs dans l'expressivité offerte à l'utilisateur.Nous souhaitons, dans ces travaux, définir une approche ne présentant pas ces défauts et permettant à l'utilisateur de se concentrer sur le processus créatif. En nous inspirant de l'utilisation séculaire de l'argile, nous proposons une approche modélisant la matière sous forme lagrangienne.Une forme est ainsi décrite par un système de particules, où chaque particule représente un petit volume du volume global.Dans ce cadre lagrangien, la méthode Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) permet l'approximation de grandeurs physiques en tout point de l'espace. Nous proposons alors une modélisation de matériaux à deux couches, l'une décrivant la topologie et l'autre décrivant la géométrie du système global.La méthode SPH permet, entre autres, d'évaluer la densité de matière. Ceci nous permet de définir une surface implicite basée sur les propriétés physiques du système de particules pour redonner un aspect continu à la matière.Ces matériaux peuvent alors être manipulés au moyen d'interactions locales reproduisant le maniement de la pâte à modeler, et de déformations globales. L'intérêt de notre approche est démontrée par plusieurs prototypes fonctionnant sur des stations de travail standard ou dans des environnements immersifs