Tracing roots of group representation among MPs with immigrant backgrounds

A content analysis on parliamentary questions in the Netherlands

Bibliographic Data

ID6255702
AuthorsNermin Aydemir (0000-0003-4342-2329, Political Science and International Relations, Antalya Bilim University, The Netherlands, corresponding author), R Vliegenthart (0000-0003-2401-2914, Political Science and International Relations, Antalya Bilim University, The Netherlands)
Year2022
Volume22
Issue3
Pages467-486
Publication date2022-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnicities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-7968 • E-ISSN: 1741-2706
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14687968211005187
OpenAlexW3152401358
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited49

This study investigates the representative patterns of MPs with immigrant backgrounds in the case of the Netherlands. Departing from existing literature on minority representatives, we claim that minority representatives can adopt suppressive, as well as supportive, framings when addressing constituencies with whom they share similar backgrounds. A content analysis was conducted on the parliamentary work of minority representatives to detect which frames those representatives adopt when they address cultural and/or religious rights and liberties. As for explanatory variables, we examined the role of the retreat from multicultural policies in the Netherlands on the one hand and individual and group related variables on the other. Our content analysis reveals no fundamental linear shift towards more suppressive framing during the 2002–2017 period. Minority MPs from progressive parties are more likely to use supportive frames than those MPs from conservative parties. Coming from a Turkish background – the most organized ethnic group with the highest social capital in the country – significantly adds to the likelihood of a supportive form of representation. Gender is another significant variable explaining where minority representatives stand, with male MPs being more inclined to use supportive frames on ethnic and/or religious rights and liberties than female MPs

Content analysis · Ethnic group · Framing (construction · Human rights · Immigration · Minority group · Minority rights · Multiculturalism · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Turkish · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access