Different Ways of Involvement: Migrants’ Political Participation
Immigration to Switzerland is highly selective and predominantly temporary. This has implications for migrants’ engagement and social inclusion. Residing on a short-term basis affects migrants’ relationship with the environment they live in. Then again, new residents are better educated than ever, which has implications for their ability to act.
There has been much debate on the democratic deficit in Switzerland. This year’s annual conference of the Swiss Federal Commission for Migration was fully dedicated to citizenship and political rights. The overall message of the conference was that we must break away from a regime that excludes those who move across borders from political participation. Switzerland is in comparison to other countries very exclusive in terms of access to electoral rights. Currently, a quarter of the permanent residents is not allowed to participate in federal elections and has few other opportunities to participate politically. Except for voting at the cantonal level in two cantons (Jura and Neuchâtel) and at the communal level in communes in five cantons (Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud, Freiburg, and Geneva), non-citizens are also largely excluded from voting at the local level.
Individualized Forms of Participation
Political participation extends beyond elections. Political rights of assembly and association or the right of expression are not attached to citizenship. Social transformations on the global scale have led to different ways of participating, which are closer to everyday and lifestyle forms of activism. With a diminished trust in political institutions, people prefer to engage in concrete, local, self-actualizing projects instead of taking part in formally organized programs based on political ideologies. Contemporary forms of action, which are more hands-on and seek direct results, are manifested in actions of political shopping, consumer boycotts, e-activism, and veganism, to name a few. New technologies play an important role in allowing for a global outlook and for a different perception of what really matters in the world. At the same time, media and technologies enable people to connect easily and provides them with a range of creative ways for interacting.
Barriers Foster Other Forms of Expressing Political Ideas
These new forms of action are especially important for migrants. They are largely excluded from the representative political sphere. Finding a motivation to join organizations or associations might be especially challenging for migrants who have moved not that long ago and live in increasingly diverse societies. However, experiences of moving internationally could motivate some people to take on new roles. The Migration-Mobility survey allowed us to look at the different forms of engagement, also when they happen outside the arena prescribed for politics. This survey was conducted on people who were born outside of Switzerland, who have immigrated to Switzerland within the past ten years and do not have Swiss citizenship. The results of the survey show us that very few recently arrived migrants have been in contact with politicians or political parties (2%). Likewise, very few have been engaged in demonstrations (3%). More of them are active in boycotting products (17%), expressing political opinions and communicating about activities on the internet (14%), and signing petitions (13%). Structural and institutional barriers which discourage migrant political participation could be the reason that more people are active on the internet and by consuming.
Education and International Experiences Matter for Individual Engagement
What influences someone to become politically engaged is the same for both migrants and the local population. In line with other studies on political engagement, migrants participate more if they have a higher level of education. Education provides a source of self-confidence which is needed to engage in non-regulated political activities. It is interesting, however, that the level of education does not increase the chances of engaging in the representative political sphere by joining any political organizations. Time spent in Switzerland and local language skills matter most for this type of activities. Other factors are specific to migration background and migration experiences. We find that people with rich international experiences, who had moved from country to country before migrating to Switzerland, can use their international experiences as a resource for political mobilization. Another strong motivator for engagement is the feeling of discrimination. The perception of exclusion could be a strong motivation to reach out for people with shared experience that pushes them to act. High level of education and international experience foster the social esteem required to act against discrimination through non-regulated political activities. Still, when one feels discriminated against, the chances of engaging with politicians are low, they rather engage in quiet or expressive forms.
Language Matters for Engagement in Political Organizations but not for E-Activism
The longer people stay in the country, the more likely they are to engage politically. They become more reachable, might have developed a broader social network and more interested in their place of residence on a local level. Political engagement also grows with the improvement of local language skills. Host country language proficiency provides communication abilities and enables access to information. A lack of local language skills, however, does not hold people back from engaging politically on the internet. In these cases, they most likely target institutions other than the local government.
Interested and Involved
Foreign residents are interested in the Swiss political system. 87% of respondents in Migration-Mobility Survey responded they would vote in general elections in Switzerland if they had the right to vote. 67% of respondents are either very or quite interested in politics in Switzerland. They are making use of various forms of engagement and are leaning towards forms which are not constrained by the representative political sphere. New, selective and temporary migration leads to different ways of participating. People on the move choose different types of activities, but their education and experiences of international mobility give them a resource for engagement. Those that will stay are also likely to become politically active in traditional ways once the barriers of access are removed.
Metka Hercog is a lecturer at the University of Basel and organized the closing workshop ‘The Mobility of the Highly Skilled towards Switzerland’ in May 2018.
