“The New Land of Opportunity?”
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“The new land of opportunity?” Immigrants' political participation and representation in Norway: Exploring the intersecting experiences of immigrants within the realm of Norwegian politics Hamid Talebian Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree (30 ECTS) Master of Philosophy in Global Development Theory and Practice, with specialization in Gender Spring 2021 Faculty of Psychology Department of Health Promotion and Development University of Bergen Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Victor Chimhutu, for his supervision on this master’s thesis and his extraordinary support, guidance, and encouragement throughout the process of my master’s studies. My gratitude extends to all staff in the Department of Health Promotion and Development at the University of Bergen for their constant support. I would also like to thank my peer students at this master’s programme for being a source of inspiration and comfort. I thank my dear friends and classmates Audrey, Grecia, Elise E, and Silje for their companionship and support. My special gratitude goes to Audrey Geissinger for her invaluable comments and insightful discussions, and also for proofreading this thesis. To my family and friends back home. Thanks for your perpetual love and belief in me. To Sara, my beloved sister, for being incredibly caring and supportive during the course of my master’s studies. To both my siblings, Sara and Hamed, for reading my paper and providing feedback. To my parents whose love and continuing support cannot be expressed by words. To my dearest Lili for her love, understanding, and encouragement since the beginning of this journey. Thanks for being there for me in this demanding and stressful time. Last but not least, my sincere gratitude goes to all of the informants who participated in this research project. Hamid Talebian i Table of content CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Research objectives ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Structure of the thesis .......................................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Citizenship, length of stay, and sense of belonging ............................................................................ 5 2.2 Socioeconomic factors and contrasting findings................................................................................. 5 2.3 Receiving countries’ political structures ............................................................................................. 7 2.4 Violence against women in politics .................................................................................................... 7 2.5 Gaps in the literature: qualitative research, intersectionality, and gender sensitivity ......................... 9 CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 11 3.1 Intersectionality ................................................................................................................................. 11 3.2 Microaggression theory .................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 14 4.1 Research design and philosophical approach .................................................................................... 14 4.2 Study site ........................................................................................................................................... 15 4.3 Informants ......................................................................................................................................... 15 4.3.1 Politicians with immigrant backgrounds .................................................................................... 15 4.3.2 Political activists with immigrant backgrounds ......................................................................... 16 4.4 Recruitment strategy ......................................................................................................................... 16 4.5 Methods of data collection ................................................................................................................ 17 4.5.1 In-depth interviews .................................................................................................................... 17 4.6 Data management .............................................................................................................................. 18 4.7 Data analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 18 4.8 Trustworthiness of research .............................................................................................................. 19 4.9 Role of the researcher ....................................................................................................................... 20 4.10 Ethical considerations ..................................................................................................................... 21 4.10.1 Overall ethical issues ............................................................................................................... 21 4.10.2 Informed consent and protection .............................................................................................. 21 4.10.3 Instances of ethical clearance (NSD, RETTE) ......................................................................... 22 ii CHAPTER FIVE: Cross-cutting issues and challenges regarding conventional political participation of immigrants ..................................................................................................................... 23 5.1 Challenges of political participation and representation for immigrants .......................................... 23 5.1.1 Different political cultures ......................................................................................................... 23 5.1.2 Gender roles ............................................................................................................................... 24 5.1.3 The role of nationality and country of origin ............................................................................. 25 5.1.4 The role of the political system .................................................................................................. 26 5.1.5 The role of political parties ........................................................................................................ 27 5.2 Voice of the politicians with immigrant backgrounds ...................................................................... 28 CHAPTER SIX: Experiences of politicians and political activists with immigrant backgrounds with conventional political participation ......................................................................................................... 30 6.1 Entry into politics .............................................................................................................................. 30 6.2 Motivations and drivers for entering into politics ............................................................................. 31 6.3 Language barriers .............................................................................................................................. 32 6.4 The issue of acceptance..................................................................................................................... 33 6.5 Violence against immigrant women in politics ................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER SEVEN: DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 38 7.1 Challenges of conventional political participation and representation for immigrants..................... 38 7.1.1 Framing the notions of race and cultural difference .................................................................. 38 7.1.2 Nationality and religion ............................................................................................................. 40 7.1.3 Gender and political participation .............................................................................................. 43 7.1.4 Microaggressions ....................................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................ 50 8.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 50 8.2 Recommendation for future research 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