Europe and the Arabic-Islamic world: a sociological perspective on the socio-cultural difference and mutual (mis)perceptions between two neighbouring cultural areas

"This paper investigates the mutual perceptions and misperceptions between Europe and the Arab-Islamic world. Based on a sociological theory of collective identity formation, a typology and set of hypotheses are developed in the first section concerning the relations between countries and cultures in the world; these are seen as being dependent on inequality in their level of socio-economic development, and on the similarity or difference of their culture and their political systems. In the second and third section, these principles are applied to an analysis of the self-concepts and the mutual perceptions between Europe and the Arab-Islamic world. Here, it is first investigated whether fundamental differences exist in basic value orientations between Europe on the one hand, and Islam and the Arabic world on the other, and in the value orientations of Christians and Muslims in two selected countries. In the third section, the mutual perceptions of these two culture areas are investigated. It is shown that—despite a lack of fundamental differences in value orientations—significant misperceptions exist, particularly of the Arab-Islamic culture and societies in Europe. They are related to colonial history, religious-cultural differences, and inequalities in levels of development. Further reasons for the misperceptions and perspectives for their correction after the terrorist attack in New York in 2001 are outlined in the final section." (author's abstract

Voiceless submission or deliberate choice? European integration and the relation between national and European identity

"(...) This chapter consists of two parts. In the first part, the issues of national identity and European integration are discussed from a more general point of view. For this purpose, the concepts of 'nation' and 'nation identity' are introduced and defined as well as their relation to 'European identity'. In the second part, a typology of the different outlooks of the individual nation states and their citizens towards the European Union is developed. (...)" (excerpt

Language and identity in the age of globalization

"Language is a central element of any culture and society. For each human, it is the main instrument for perceiving and evaluating the world around himself or herself. Language is, therefore, a central element of identity: identity implies the perception of one's own strengths and weaknesses, the evaluation of one's own past, the visions of one's own future. Identity provides aims, direction and consistency to the actions of men or women. This self-image or identity is developed through interaction with other people; one's self-image, at least to some degree, must be shared and validated by others. Language plays a central role. To speak a common language per se creates a feeling of communality (Sapir 1951: 157; Whorf 1956; Weber 1964: 305ff.; Goebl et al. 1996). Adequate mastery of a language is a decisive determinant of a satisfactory communication with other people, and also for social recognition, self-confidence and the feeling of security in the world. Linguistic problems, from stuttering to dumbness, probably entail the strongest harm to one's self-image and self-consciousness. In the first part of this essay, I will elaborate the relationship between language and identity and propose a central thesis. Subsequently, I describe five typical, different social constellations in which a change of language can occur. Here, I will present examples from different linguistic areas of the world. Finally, I will present some considerations about the role of language education and politics today." (excerpt

From socialist equality to capitalist startification: how people see it

The transition from socialism to capitalism has led to diverging socioeconomic outcomes for the Post-Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). While common social problems of capitalist societies were virtually unknown prior to the collapse of socialism, they have been on the increase since the introduction of comprehensive market-oriented reforms. The objective of our article is to investigate the impact of the rising inequality in income in CEE and the effects of distinct trajectories on the change of individual orientations toward social inequality in Post-Communist East Europe. We present statistical data on structural changes and apply linear and logistic regression on data from the ISSP survey 2009 on the perception of social inequality. Our findings suggest that both individual and structural conditions are relevant for attitudes related to inequality. First, objective inequality itself is not associated with individually perceived income differences. Second, different Post-Communist welfare regimes indicate an effect on such perceptions as well as on the individuals’ assessment of the society they live in. Further, the socioeconomic position affects the attitudes toward a redistribution policy

SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL INTEGRATION OF KOSOVAR IMMIGRANTS IN AUSTRIA

Over the last two decades, immigration rates have increased on a global level. They have also increased in Austria, where a considerable number of immigrants are of Kosovar origin. This paper investigates the degree of their socioeconomic and cultural integration into Austrian society. The main thesis of the research was that the systemic integration of Kosovar immigrants, including participation in the labor market, housing situation, is relatively high and will be better than their social integration, such as interactions with Austrians, inclusion in social activities and associations. Specific hypotheses were developed: (1) that system integration will be higher than social integration; (2) that people with the following characteristics: (2a) differences by gender, (2b) immigrants with higher education, (2c) family situation (married immigrants with children), (2d) immigrants with a strong attachment to the religion of their native country who mostly have conservative social attitudes, will have greater difficulty integrating into Austrian society, (2e) place of living - people living in larger cities, will be better integrated, and (3) immigrants from Kosovo will be quite satisfied with their life in Austria. Two sets of empirical data are used to test these hypotheses. One was a socio-demographic description of all Kosovars living in Austria using data from official statistics. The other source is our empirical study conducted in Austria during the period August-October 2018. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 150 Kosovar immigrants aged over 15 years. The findings confirm the aforementioned hypotheses. They also show that the immigrants from Kosovo are quite satisfied with their situation in Austria; surprisingly, as much as two-thirds seem to be fully integrated in systemic terms

Happiness as an expression of freedom and self-determination: a comparative multilevel analysis

"In this paper, subjecitve well-being, as measured by survey questions on life satisfaction and happiness, is investigated from a sociological-comparative point of view. The central thesis is that happiness will be greater the more freedom a person has in her/his life decisions. It is hypothesized,therefore, that happiness will be higher in all those social contexts (micro and macro) which provide a person with greater freedom. Hence, happiness should be higher among the employed, among the persons in higher positions and with higher incomes, and happiness should also be higher in free market and democratic, and in less stratified societies. A comparative emperical analysis (multilevel regression) is carried out, using survey data on 41 nations from the World Value Survey 1995-97. The finding that happiness is related significantly to the degree of individual freedom is fully confirmed. It also has been proven that people who live in circumstances providng providing more freedom of personal choice are happier; this happens only through their perception and trough their expected change (improvement or stagnation) in the future" (author's abstract

The Austrian Sociological Association and Austrian Sociology - another view

"In the June 2002 issue of International Sociology, Christian Fleck published a report on the Austrian Sociological Association (OeGS) which was very critical of that association and the achievements of Austrian sociology in general. In this paper, we argue that this was a rather one-sided view. We show that the OeGS and its members have been very active in fostering international contacts with sociologists from neighbouring countries (Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland), by organising common congresses and workshops, and publishing books. In the Eighties, one of the most important achievements – comitted by Fleck - was the initiation of the European Sociological Association and the organisation of the first European Congress of Sociology in Vienna in 1992. Fleck not only disparages the achievement of Austrian sociology in the Sixties and Seventies, but even more so those in the Eighties and Nineties. Between 1950 and 2002, Austrian sociologists have published nearly 1200 books (Haller 2004) thus contributing significantly to the establishment of sociological research and thinking about contemporary Austrian society." (author's abstract

How social relations and structures can produce happiness and unhappiness: an international comparative analysis

"In this paper, subjective well being, as measured by survey questions on happiness and life satisfaction, is investigated from a sociological-comparative point of view. The central thesis is that happiness and satisfaction must be understood as the outcome of an interaction process between individual characteristics and aspirations on the one side, and social relations and macrosocial structures on the other side. A distinction is made between life satisfaction and happiness; the former is more seen as the outcome of an evaluation process including material and social aspirations and achievements, the latter as an outcome of positive experiences, particularly close personal relationships. The focus of this paper is on micro- and macrosocial conditions favouring or inhibiting the emergence of happiness and satisfaction. It is hypothesized that dense and good basic social relations, occupational involvement and success, sociocultural (religious and altruistic) orientations and participation are conducive to happiness and life satisfaction; the same should be true at the macrolevel for economic prosperity, relatively equal social structures, a well-established welfare state and political democracy. The latter conditions, however, should be more important for life satisfaction than for happiness. A comparative, multilevel regression analysis of happiness in 41 nations around the world is carried out (using the World Value Survey 1995–1997). Both our general assumption and most of the specific hypotheses could be confirmed. It turned very clearly that “happiness” and “life satisfaction” are two different concepts. It could be shown that microsocial embedding and sociocultural integration of a person are highly relevant for happiness. However, contrary to earlier studies, we find that macrosocial factors like the economic wealth of nation, the distribution of income, the extent of the welfare state and political freedom are also relevant, particularly for satisfaction. What counts most is the ability to cope with life, including subjective health and financial satisfaction, close social relations, and the economic perspectives for improvement in the future, both at the level of the individual and at that of the society. These abilities are certainly improved by favourable macrosocial conditions and institutions, such as a more equal income distribution, political democracy and a welfare state." (author's abstract