Beyond race?

While at the moment the world seems to be divided along racial lines and ‘race’ appears to be a central axe of social inclusion and exclusion, in this article we ask whether it is thinkable to go ‘beyond race’. We want to explore the idea of going ‘beyond race’ in four different ways: (1) ‘Beyond race’ as a demographic reality when people of mixed origin form the majority of population; (2) ‘Beyond race’ in regard to policies that aim at combatting inequalities also along color lines, yet are no longer dependent on a notion of race. (3) ‘Beyond race’ in terms of political mobilizations, e.g. the possibility or desirability of anti-racist movements not grounded in identity politics and (4) ‘Beyond race’ as a conceptualization of race that is decoupling biology and culture, or even to stop thinking in racial categories altogether, yet without de-politicizing any marginalised group’s, history and experience. We are aware that this questioning of race, and by implication of ethnicity, may be a typical hang-up of two authors based in Europe. We have invited authors from different parts of the world, and with different academic backgrounds to reflect in a commentary on the issues we raise and to explain their position

The settlement country and ethnic identification of children of Turkish immigrants in Germany, France, and the Netherlands: what role do national integration policies play?’

Germany, France, and the Netherlands have pursued different types of integration policies. Using data from a mixed method study, this paper investigates whether and how these differences have affected the settlement country and ethnic identification of the children of Turkish immigrants. The results indicate that integration policies do not affect ethnic identification, but an inclusive policy has a positive impact on settlement country identification. Multicultural policies do not seem to have any effect. Despite processes of exclusion and self-exclusion in all three countries, our respondents have developed a strong connection to their settlement country and in particular to their place of residence. © 2011 by the Center for Migration Studies of New York

Suicidality of young ethnic minority women with an Immigrant background: The role of autonomy

Ethnic minority status and female gender convey a risk for suicidal behavior, yet research of suicidality of ethnic minority female immigrants is scarce. The authors of this article conducted qualitative interviews with 15 young women (of four ethnicities) in the Netherlands, who either had attempted suicide or contemplated suicide, and analyzed these in a narrative psychology tradition. Suicidality was associated with despair and frustration over the violation of the women’s personal autonomy and self-integrity regarding strategic life choices. Autonomy restrictions and violations followed two patterns, which are interconnected with four criteria regarding the capacity for autonomy. Findings are discussed with referral to Durkheim and feminist theories of autonomy

Narratives of meaningful endurance–how migrant women escape the vicious cycle between health problems and unemployment.

Migrant women in Europe have a higher incidence of health problems and have disproportionately high unemployment rates. We examine how Dutch and Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese first and second generation migrant women escape the vicious cycle between health problems and unemployment by using the theory of the Sense of Coherence (SOC). We study how SOC works and whether SOC is also applicable outside the domain of health. Our findings from life story interviews (N = 54) show that women can escape this vicious cycle through the meaningful reconstruction of adversity. Women can put a halt on the on-going negative chain reaction through focusing on the meaning and purpose of adversity. We name such life stories narratives of meaningful endurance, which are characterized by structure, authorship and meaningful reconstruction, in opposition to its counterpart, narratives of non-directional distress. The three respective components of SOC - comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness - enable the attainment of a narrative of meaningful endurance and individuals with a stronger SOC are more likely to tell narratives of meaningful endurance. Theoretical and policy implications of our findings are discussed

Culture, tolerance and gender: a contribution from the Netherlands

Defenders of multiculturalism have been recently criticized for failing to address gender inequality in minority cultures. Multiculturalism would seem incompatible with a commitment to feminism. This article discusses two empirical cases that pose a problem for public policy in the Netherlands: a conflict over wearing headscarves (hijab) and requests for surgical hymen repair. These cases evoke widespread public controversy, in part because they are presumed to express or accommodate traditions in violation of women's rights and thus raise the question of tolerance. While recognizing the potential discrepancies between feminism and multiculturalism, the author argues that committed feminists can be multiculturalists as well, and that good feminism might well require acts of multiculturalism. In addition, she advocates a contextual approach to tolerance. Her argument is that general justice arguments are too indeterminate to make for good judgement in concrete cases. The national political culture and institutional setting in which multicultural conflicts take place should be considered as morally relevant factors and co-determine our moral considerations. The dispute over feminism and multiculturalism cannot be settled in abstracto. Using a contextual approach, the author argues that wearing a headscarf and hymen repair are justifiable and consonant with feminist concerns in the Dutch educational and medical contexts

Gloedvol samenleven in morele diversiteit

Bijna de helft van de autochtone Nederlanders gelooft dat de verschillende culturen en religies in Nederland niet vreedzaam met elkaar kunnen samenleven vanwege verschillen in waarden. Sawitri Saharso bespreekt in haar oratie wat er moet gebeuren om goed samen te leven in morele diversiteit. Zij betoogt dat de overheid randvoorwaarden kan scheppen, maar dat goed samenleven in morele diversiteit ook vraagt om burgers, die compassie hebben met elkaar en in staat zijn om zonder afstand te nemen van de eigen zienswijze over het eigen zelfbetrokken perspectief heen te zien