Patterns of minority and majority identification in a multicultural society

Abstract

Original citation:Nandi, Alita and Platt, Lucinda (2015) Patterns of minority and majority identification in a multicultural society. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38 (15 This document is the author's final accepted version of the journal article. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. 1 Patterns of minority and majority identification in a multicultural societyAlita Nandi and Lucinda Platt * Abstract There has been increasing investigation of the national and ethnic identification of minority populations in Western societies and how far they raise questions about the success or failure of multicultural societies. Much of the political and academic discussion has, however, been premised on two assumptions. First that ethnic minority and national identification are mutually exclusive, and secondly that national identification represents an overarching majority identity, which represents consensus values. In this paper, using a large-scale nationally representative UK survey with a varied set of identity questions, and drawing on an extension of Berry's acculturation framework, we empirically test these two assumptions. We find that, among minorities, strong British national and minority identities often coincide and are not on an opposing axis. We also find that adherence to a British national identity shows cleavages within the White majority population. We further identify variation in these patterns by generation and political orientation.

Transnational Relationships and Cultural Identity of Older Migrants

“…They can strengthen a sense of ethnic identity through emphasizing similarities with siblings, yet strengthen British identity through accentuating differences between the Britishness of parents when contrasted with the cultural identity of children living abroad. Our findings also suggest that one form of identity does not necessarily come at the expense of another (Nandi & Platt, 2015). Indeed, the plurality of cultural identity suggests that migrants can maintain multiple identities that are not necessarily oppositional (Verkuyten, 2007).…”

Elite or middling? International students and migrant diversification

“…Although we would not expect much, if any change in Pakistani affiliation over only 18 months, and indeed we see no change on average, we might expect elite migrants to be less quick to adopt a UK identity, given the overall lower levels of national identification among elites and the fact that more disadvantaged groups are more likely to adopt receiving country identities (Nandi and Platt, forthcoming;Manning and Roy, 2010).…”

Sub‐state national identities among minority groups in Britain: a comparative analysis of 2011 census data

“…This allows us to reflect the religious diversity within some minority ethnic groups while also taking into account the homogeneity of others (see e.g. Heath and Demireva ; Nandi and Platt ). For example, since the vast majority of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK are Muslim, for these groups adding religion separately adds little to the analysis.…”

“…An important exception is Nandi and Platt's () work, which uses data from the Understanding Society survey to assess and compare state and sub‐state national identification among minority groups in the UK. They again establish that levels of British identification among minorities (most obviously, but not exclusively, those born in Britain) compare well with the White majority, among whom exclusive sub ‐state national identification (e.g.…”