Attitudes towards Immigration and National Identity A Comparative Study of Italy and Norway Cand. Polit. Thesis in Sociology Ane Johannessen Department of Sociology University of Bergen May 15, 2001 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Rune Sakslind and Johs. Hjellbrekke for good guidance in the process of writing this thesis, especially in the finishing stages. My gratitude also goes to my mother for constant encouraging me and to my sisters for critical reading and helpful suggestions. Fellow students at the department of sociology have made these years enjoyable. I am especially indebted to Kristin for inspiring discussions and good friendship. Thanks to the Centre for Clinical Research at Haukeland for copying and binding this thesis. And last, but not least, thank you Roy - for your invaluable emotional support, patience and help. The data material used in this thesis is "National Identity 1995", a survey from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) passed on to me by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD). ISSP and NSD are neither responsible for the analyses nor the interpretations that I have done in this thesis. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................5 1.1 STATING THE PROBLEM ........................................................................................................................................ 6 1.2 THE CONTENTS OF THIS THESIS ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRATION AND NATIONA L IDENTITY ................................................................... 10 2. ITALIAN HISTORY.................................................................................................................................................13 2.1 IL RISORGIMENTO – THE “RESURRECTION” OF ITALY ................................................................................... 13 2.2 THE W EALTHY NORTH AND THE POOR SOUTH .............................................................................................. 15 2.3 POLITICAL IMMOBILITY, TERRORISM AND THE MAFIA .................................................................................... 17 2.4 "THE ITALIAN MIRACLE" AND THE W ELFARE STATE...................................................................................... 20 2.5 FROM EMIGRATION TO IMMIGRATION............................................................................................................... 23 2.6 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................... 26 3. NORWEGIAN HISTORY.......................................................................................................................................29 3.1 THE "EMBETSMANN" STATE AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY ............................................................................... 29 3.2 THE PEASANT AS A NATIONAL SYMBOL........................................................................................................... 33 3.3 EGALITARIAN IDEOLOGY AND THE URBAN/RURAL DIMENSION................................................................... 35 3.4 DEPRESSION, LABOUR PARTY AND THE WELFARE STATE.......................................................................... 36 3.5 IMMIGRATION HISTORY ........................................................................................................................................ 39 3.6 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................... 41 4. INTERNATIONAL THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS ..........................................................................45 4.1 ERNEST GELLNER ................................................................................................................................................ 46 4.2 ANTHONY D. SMITH ............................................................................................................................................. 49 4.3 BENEDICT ANDERSON ......................................................................................................................................... 53 4.4 MICHAEL BILLIG .................................................................................................................................................... 56 4.5 LEONARD DOOB.................................................................................................................................................... 59 4.6 SOME UNIFYING REMARKS ON INTERNATIONAL THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS ................................... 62 5. PREVIOUS RESEARCH.........................................................................................................................................65 5.1 RESEARCH BASED ON THE 1995 ISSP SURVEY “NATIONAL IDENTITY” ................................................... 65 5.2 ASPECTS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY...................................................................................................................... 69 5.3 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................... 71 6. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK.............................................................................................................73 1 6.1 INTERNA TIONAL SOCIAL SURVEY PROGRAMME............................................................................................. 74 6.2 THE 1995 SURVEY ............................................................................................................................................... 75 6.3 MAKING THE CONCEPTS OPERATIONAL.......................................................................................................... 77 6.4 RELIABILITY ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................... 81 6.5 COMPARABILITY .................................................................................................................................................... 83 6.6 CORRESPONDENCE ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 85 6.7 A CLOSING ............................................................................................................................................................. 87 7. ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRATION .............................................................................................................................................................91 7.1 STRUCTURAL OPPOSITIONS IN ITALY ............................................................................................................... 92 7.2 A PICTURE OF ITALIAN ATTITUDES AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES ................................................................... 94 7.2.1 Italian Attitudes towards Immigration......................................................................................................94 7.2.2 Italian Membership Identity.......................................................................................................................95 7.2.3 Italian Chauvinistic Identity .......................................................................................................................96 7.2.4 Italian Civic Identity....................................................................................................................................98 7.2.5 Cultural Identity............................................................................................................................................99 7.3 A MORE THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF ITALIAN IDENTITY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRATION .......................................................................................................................................................................................100 7.3.1 Membership Identity and Attitudes towards Immigration.................................................................. 100 7.3.2 Chauvinistic Identity and Attitudes towards Immigration.................................................................. 105 7.3.3 Civic Identity and Attitudes towards Immigration............................................................................... 109 7.3.4 Cultural Identity and Attitudes towards Immigration......................................................................... 112 7.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS ON ITALIAN IDENTITY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRATION ...................116 7.4.1 Anti-Immigration Attitude........................................................................................................................ 117 7.4.2 Pro-Immigration Attitude......................................................................................................................... 118 8. ANALYSIS OF NORWEGIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRATION .........................................................................................................................................................