| Abstrakt: |
The research project comprises a quantitative study (n=3.104; average age: 15 years) and a qualitative analysis (n=26) of nationalism and xenophobia among adolescents. Selected extracts of the qualitative interview study are presented initially to demonstrate how teenagers with and without xenophobic attitudes think about immigrants and about the Swiss nation. The qualitative results exhibit that in the Swiss society there are competing patterns of identification with the nation: one type is based on a constructed common ethnicity and is strongly related to the idealisation of the in-group and, at the same time, to xenophobia. Another pattern of identification is based on the concept of citizenship and focuses on equal participation of immigrants in all societal domains. These two patterns, the ethnic and civic concept of nationalism, as well as the variety of patterns derived from a combination of aspects of both types of identification, are interpreted as an expression of the current identity crisis of Switzerland. The quantitative study illustrates how widespread xenophobic attitudes are among Swiss youth and discusses the causes of this phenomenon within the theoretical framework of modernisation, social deprivation, and authoritarianism: the links between a negative political attitude towards immigrants and growing up in a traditional, rural setting as well as a specific concept of citizenship that upholds loyalty to one's own nation are demonstrated. The tendency of xenophobia among Swiss teenagers increases with a growing authoritarian conviction and a declining willingness to become involved in social and charity activities as an adult. The less political knowledge and trust in public and political institutions the respondents had the stronger their xenophobic inclinations. Male gender is also a risk factor. Suggestions for civic education and a policy against xenophobia (antiracism) conclude the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
