Deconstructing Mythological Foundations of Ethnic Identities and Ethnic Group Formation: Albanian-Speaking and New Armenian Immigrants in Switzerland

Abstract

Scholars generally agree that ethnicity often serves as a vehicle for mechanisms of social inclusion or exclusion and is interwoven with the structures of nation-states. This article aims to contribute to the ongoing debate about ethnicity and highlights the inherent dilemma of essentialism using two empirical case studies*Albanianspeaking migrants living in Switzerland and newly arrived Armenian migrants who left Armenia after independence in 1991. By directing attention to the processes of boundary construction, as well as to the relative and situational character of ethnicity, the paper shows how representations of collective ethnic identities are formed, transformed, reformulated or shifted to other representations of collective identities. By analysing the degree of reification of ethnic identities, it becomes clear that the ladder from 'soft' to 'hard' essentialisation has many steps. Furthermore, the case studies reveal that, in contemporary Switzerland, other categories are relevant for social exclusion or inclusion as well, mainly the type of residence permit and professional qualifications*categories which are also interwoven with ethnicity.

The intersections of gender and generation in albanian migration, remittances and transnational care

“…Where wives were 'allowed' to send some remittances to their parents, they would be euphemistically labelled 'presents'. We also uncovered anecdotal evidence of wives secretly sending remittances to their mothers and other female family members without the knowledge of their husbands -a hidden remittance chain also noted amongst Kosovan Albanian women in Switzerland by Dahinden (2008).…”

Intercultural immigrant youth identities in contexts of family, friends, and school

“…It was found that a multicultural model explained more of the variance in outcomes than a bicultural model. In addition to multiple cultures it has been found that in Switzerland the role ethnic identification plays in social inclusion and exclusion varies by type of residence permit (Dahinden 2008). We see that ethnic identity may in some cases be multicultural identity and that contextual factors shape the role of identity in inclusion in society and its institutions such as schools.…”

Identity Processes and Dynamics in Multi-Ethnic Europe

“…always the result of dialectic processes and historical variables, relative and subjective Weber 1978;Wicker 1997;Wimmer 2008; for the Albanian-speaking migrants see Dahinden 2008). So were the Albanians more or less forced into this ethnic homophilic principlefor example, because of lacking contact with the Swiss -or to what extent did they contribute to this?…”