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Social identities, societal change and mental borders

Social identities, societal change and mental borders In this paper we investigate the relations between cross-border mobility, national categorization and intergroup relations in a changing Europe. It focuses on young adults (N=34) commuting on a regular basis between the city of Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) and the city of Vienna (the capital of Austria). Our study draws on the social identity perspective, however, we consider social identity as a discourse of (not) belonging, similarity and difference, which is continually (re)negotiated within a given social context. Semi-structured qualitative interviews, focus groups and drawings of the border area were used as research instruments. We have identified different types of experience in various subgroups of participants framed by (1) age at the time of arrival in Austria; (2) different mobility motivations and goals; (3) interaction setting; (4) the political and economic situation in Slovakia at the time of arrival to Austria linked to perceived status differences. On the individual level, the motivation to integrate or its lack seems to be a crucial element in the ingroup construction and perception of intergroup relations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Human Affairs Springer Journals

Social identities, societal change and mental borders

Petrjánošová, Magda; Lášticová, Barbara
Human Affairs , Volume 21 (2) – Jun 16, 2011
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References (24)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by © Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien
Subject
Social Sciences; Sociology, general; Quality of Life Research; Middle Eastern Culture
ISSN
1210-3055
eISSN
1337-401X
DOI
10.2478/s13374-011-0020-x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the relations between cross-border mobility, national categorization and intergroup relations in a changing Europe. It focuses on young adults (N=34) commuting on a regular basis between the city of Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) and the city of Vienna (the capital of Austria). Our study draws on the social identity perspective, however, we consider social identity as a discourse of (not) belonging, similarity and difference, which is continually (re)negotiated within a given social context. Semi-structured qualitative interviews, focus groups and drawings of the border area were used as research instruments. We have identified different types of experience in various subgroups of participants framed by (1) age at the time of arrival in Austria; (2) different mobility motivations and goals; (3) interaction setting; (4) the political and economic situation in Slovakia at the time of arrival to Austria linked to perceived status differences. On the individual level, the motivation to integrate or its lack seems to be a crucial element in the ingroup construction and perception of intergroup relations.

Journal

Human Affairs – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 16, 2011

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