THE POLITICAL INTEGRATION of MOROCCANS in EUROPE An
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THE POLITICAL INTEGRATION OF MOROCCANS IN EUROPE An Analysis of the Attitudinal and Behavioural Engagement of Moroccan-origin Residents in Politics in Five European Cities Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester By Zakaria Sajir School of Media, Communication and Sociology University of Leicester June 2018 Abstract In this dissertation I focus on the political integration of the people of migrant-origin from Morocco. The main objective is to explore how con- textual factors shape the political engagement of this group. In addition, the varying migration trajectories and histories of settlement in Europe of this large, heterogeneous, stigmatised, and understudied group are made visible. I begin by advancing my own conception of political integration, adding to work that seeks to fill a gap in the literature on migrant integra- tion, which has predominantly focused on the social and economic aspects. Using this concept, I analyse the attitudinal and behavioural forms of politi- cal engagement expressed by the members of the Moroccan-origin commu- nities residing in Brussels, Lyon, Turin, Barcelona, and Madrid. I use survey data from the LOCALMULTIDEM project, a sister project, and an original survey in Turin that I designed and conducted. I investigated how contex- tual factors—the presence of local voting rights in favour of non-European nationals and the strength of the anti-discrimination policies implemented in the countries of residence—can shape the way Moroccan-origin individ- uals engage in their countries of residence. I conducted a series of multivari- ate analyses whilst controlling for the influence of individual attributes, like gender, age, and education. The results produced do not provide evidence in support of the argument that the extension of local voting rights in favour of migrant-origin individuals can stimulate their political engagement. The Moroccan-origin individuals residing in Brussels, the only city where non- European nationals can take part in local elections, do not have a higher chance to be engaged in politics. However, the findings suggest that the Moroccan-origin communities residing in countries implementing stronger and intermediate anti-discrimination policies (Belgium, France, and Italy) can express their voice through a wider set of political acts. This thesis is dedicated to my mother Fatima Acknowledgments These last five years spent working on this project have been a life-changing experience. A rite of passage. A large number of people contributed in their own way to the realisation of this dissertation. First of all, I want to thank the University of Leicester for the funding given to develop this research project. And I want to thank my supervisors Leah Bassel and Laura Morales. Without Laura I would have never had the opportunity to start and develop this research project at the University of Leicester. And without Leah, I am sure that I would have never finished this dissertation. I appreciate all their contributions of time, ideas, and energy given to this study. A big thank you also to David Bartram for his kind hospitality in the first days in Leicester, and the valuable feedback given on the first versions of the extended research proposal in the initial months in Leicester. A special mention goes to all the scholars who showed interest in the first drafts of my research project before moving to UK. They provided me with a great deal of motivation in the initial moments. I want to thank in particular: Patrick Ireland, Kees Groenendijk, Manlio Cinalli, Marco Giugni, Pontus Odmalm, and Fabio Quassoli for their always constructive feedback. Their kind replies gave me the motivation to apply for a PhD and convinced me that academia is not just an arena for passionate intellectual debates, but it is first of all a place where nice people with a human touch can be met. I am also grateful to all the people who assisted me in the field-work I con- ducted in Turin. In particular, I am indebted to Gian Carlo Blangiardo and Gianluca Baio for their support with the sampling frame used in Turin, to Chiara Poletti for the precious logistic, theoretical, and emotional support given before, during, and after the survey, to Emanuele Maspoli for shar- ing without any reservation all his expertise and passion for the Moroccan community of Turin. I also want to thank for their help: Ilda Curti, Roberto Pizzarelli, Giovanna Nicoletta, Giovanni Semi, Magda Bolzoni, Katia Pilati, Mariella De Vietro, Diletta Berardinelli, and Fredo Olivero. Thanks to all the colleagues I met in Leicester with whom I shared the ephemeral joys of the PhD life as well as its moments of deep agony and sense of perdition. Thanks to the old good friends and the new ones I met in these years, who stayed close till the very end. Finally, I am grateful to my small and special family. My thoughts go to my mother Fatima and sisters Fedua and Aya who have supported me along the way, kept me going, and always reminded me of my true poten- tial. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement! Table of Contents 1 Introduction: Studying Political Integration of Third Country Nationals in Context1 1.1 Background ............................. 4 1.2 Significance ............................. 4 1.3 Outline................................ 8 2 The Political Integration of Migrants: A Review of the Literature 11 2.1 The Main Debates in the Literature on Political Integration . 13 2.1.1 Political integration and citizenship ........... 14 2.1.2 Assimilation, integration, incorporation. Simply a mat- ter of labels?......................... 15 2.1.3 Process, condition, or both?................ 18 2.1.4 Group-driven approach versus individual-driven ap- proach ............................ 19 2.1.5 Political outcomes versus political engagement . 22 2.1.6 The autochthonous group as the ‘Gold Standard’ . 24 2.1.7 The exploration of ethnicity, race, and Islam . 27 2.2 My conception of migrant political integration ......... 30 2.2.1 Migrant political engagement............... 32 2.3 The Main Theoretical Perspectives and Hypotheses . 34 2.3.1 Micro-level factors: human capital theory . 35 2.3.2 Meso-level factors: social capital theory......... 37 2.3.3 Macro-level factors: political capital theory . 38 2.3.4 Research hypotheses.................... 40 2.4 Conclusion.............................. 43 3 The Research Approach 44 3.1 Formulating the Research Design................. 44 3.1.1 A local perspective..................... 46 3.1.2 The survey design...................... 48 3.1.3 The target population: who is Moroccan? . 49 3.2 Methods and Data.......................... 51 3.2.1 The data collection method: the surveys . 52 3.2.2 Sampling procedures and interviewing methods . 53 3.3 Conclusion.............................. 65 4 The Moroccan Communities of Europe 66 4.1 The Peoples of Morocco ...................... 68 4.1.1 The Berber-Moroccan community ............ 69 4.1.2 The Jewish-Moroccan community ............ 71 4.1.3 The Arab-Moroccan community ............. 73 4.2 A Three-Phase Migration Flow to Europe ............ 75 4.2.1 First phase: colonial and bellic era ............ 76 4.2.2 Second phase: reconstruction era............. 78 4.2.3 Third phase: post-reconstruction Era........... 82 4.3 Regional Backgrounds of the Moroccan Communities Studied 86 4.3.1 Belgium ........................... 87 4.3.2 France ............................ 91 4.3.3 Italy ............................. 94 4.3.4 Spain............................. 97 4.4 Conclusion..............................102 5 Moroccan-Origin Communities in Europe: Comparing their Out- look and Patterns of Engagement 104 5.1 The Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile . 105 5.1.1 Gender and age.......................106 5.1.2 Civil status and partner’s presence in the country . 112 5.1.3 Migration causes and modes of migration . 113 5.1.4 Years since arrival in the country of residence and mi- grant generations......................115 5.1.5 Administrative situation and citizenship . 121 5.1.6 Education level .......................123 5.1.7 Native languages and language proficiency . 127 5.1.8 Employment status and household monthly income . 131 5.1.9 Religious affiliation and religiosity . 136 5.1.10 Subjective experiences of discrimination . 141 5.2 Associational and Political Patterns of Engagement . 147 5.2.1 Associational involvement . 147 5.2.2 Feelings of belonging....................151 5.2.3 Interest in politics......................156 5.2.4 Political acts.........................158 5.2.5 Electoral participation ...................162 5.3 Conclusion..............................163 6 Can Voting Rights Promote the Political Involvement of Migrant- Origin Individuals? 165 6.1 Theory ................................168 6.2 Voting Rights: Different Contexts, Different Rules . 170 6.3 Methods and Data..........................176 6.3.1 Outcome variables: attitudinal and behavioural polit- ical engagement.......................176 6.3.2 A brief on the method used in this chapter . 177 6.4 Results ................................179 6.4.1 Descriptive evidence....................179 6.4.2 Multivariate evidence ...................184 6.5 Conclusion..............................193 7 How Anti-Discrimination Policies Shape the Political Participa- tion of Moroccan-Origin Residents 195 7.1 Political Participation and Its Explanatory Factors . 200 7.2 Oppression: Racism, Discrimination, Prejudice and Other Re- lated Forms of Intolerance.....................209