The left and minority representation: The labour party, muslim candidates, and inclusion tradeoffs

Comparative Politics

Volumn 46, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 1-21

  Dancygier, Rafaela ^a  

^a PRINCETON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84886619296     PISSN: 00104159     EISSN: 21516227     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5129/001041513807709338     Document Type: Article

References (98)

1. David Miliband, "Why Is the European Left Losing Elections?" The Political Quarterly, 82 (April-June 2011), 131-37: 132-33.
2. For recent research on the electoral inclusion of immigrant-origin minorities, see, for example, Karen Bird, Thomas Saalfeld, and Andreas Wüst, eds., The Political Representation of Immigrants and Minorities: Voters, Parties and Parliaments in Liberal Democracies (New York: Routledge, 2011)
3. Terri Givens and Rahsaan Maxwell, eds., Immigrant Politics: Race and Representation in Western Europe (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2012)
4. Rahsaan Maxwell, Ethnic Minority Migrants in Britain and France: Integration Trade-Offs (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
5. On Muslims specifically, see Jytte Klausen, The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)
6. Rahsa Maxwell, "Trust in Government among British Muslims: The Importance of Migration Status," Political Behavior, 32 (March 2010), 89-109
7. Abdulkader Sinno, ed., Muslims in Western Politics (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009)
8. Jonathan Laurence, The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims: The State's Role in Minority Integration (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012).
9. Erik Bleich, "Where Do Muslims Stand on Ethno-Racial Hierarchies in Britain and France? Evidence from Public Opinion Surveys, 1988-2008," Patterns of Prejudice, 43 (July 2009), 379-400
10. Marc Helbling, ed., Islamophobia in the West: Measuring and Explaining Individual Attitudes (London: Routledge, 2012).
11. Anthony M. Messina, The Logics and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western Europe. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007)
12. Rafaela Dancygier and Elizabeth Saunders, "A New Electorate? Comparing Preferences and Partisanship between Immigrants and Natives," American Journal of Political Science, 50 (October 2006), 962-81.
13. The number of Muslims in England increased to 2.66 million by 2011. The analyses in this article were completed prior to the release of 2011 census data, and the article therefore relies on 2001. figures throughout.
14. See, for example, John Solomos and Les Back, Race, Politics, and Social Change (London: Routledge, 1995)
15. Kingsley Purdam, "The Impact of Democracy on Identity: Muslim Councillors and Their Experiences of Local Politics in Britain," University of Manchester, 1998
16. Shamit Saggar, Race and Representation:Electoral Politics and Ethnic Pluralism in Britain (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000)
17. Rushanara Ali and O'Cinneide Colm, Our House? Race and Representation in British Politics (London: Institute for Public Policy Research, 2002).
18. See, for example, Bird et al.; Givens and Maxwell; Jessica Trounstine and Melody Valdini, "The Context Matters: The Effects of Single-Member versus At-Large Districts on City Council Diversity," American Journal of Political Science, 52 (July 2008), 554-69.
19. Selectors may also consider swing voters. I focus on core constituents because the lower turnout in local elections makes the mobilization of partisans especially relevant. On electoral tradeoffs confronted by the left, see, also, Adam Przeworski and John Sprague, Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986)
20. Herbert Kitschelt, The Transformation of European Social Democracy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994)
21. see Messina; and Martin Schain, "Immigrants and the Left in France: Local Politics, Socialism and Race," New Political Science, 5, 1 (1984), 85-105.
22. For recent research on the threats posed by immigrants, see, for instance, Paul M. Sniderman and Louk Hagendoorn, When Ways of Life Collide (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007)
23. Rafaela Dancygier, Immigration and Conflict in Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010)
24. Daniel J. Hopkins, "National Debates, Local Responses: The Origins of Local Concern About Immigration in the U.K. and the U.S.," British Journal of Political Science, 41 (July 2011), 499-524
25. Claire Adida, "Too Close for Comfort? Immigrant Exclusion in Africa," Comparative Political Studies, 44 (October 2011), 1370-96
26. Helbling; Neil Malhotra, Yotam Margalit, and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, "Economic Explanations for Opposition to Immigration: Distinguishing between Prevalence and Magnitude," American Journal of Political Science, 57 (April 2013), 391-410
27. Jens Hainmueller and Dominik Hangartner, "Who Gets a Swiss Passport? A Natural Experiment in Immigrant Discrimination," American Political Science Review, 107 (February), 159-87.
28. Bird et al., 16.
29. For exceptions, see, for example, Pippa Norris and Joni Lovenduski, Political Recruitment: Gender, Race and Class in the British Parliament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
30. Maritta Soininen, "Ethnic Inclusion or Exclusion in Representation?: Local Candidate Selection in Sweden," in Karen Bird, Thomas Saalfeld, and Andreas Wüst, eds., The Political Representation of Immigrants and Minorities:Voters, Parties, and Parliaments in Liberal Democracies (London: Routledge, 2011), 145-63.
31. see, for example, Donald L. Horowitz. Ethnic Groups in Conflict (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985). British Muslims, of course, identify with additional categories, such as region of origin.
32. In recent years, however, Muslim voters as well as councilors have tended to prioritize their religious identity over others. See Purdam 1998; EMBES (Ethnic Minority British Election Study), University of Essex, 2010.
33. See, also, Sniderman and Hagendoorn.
34. Local elections are held in single-member or multimember wards according to plurality rule. In the present sample the average ward population is 12,500.
35. Local party members (not national organizations) decide on selection; see below.
36. Anthony Heath and Sin Yi Cheung, eds., Unequal Chances:Ethnic Minorities in Western Labour Markets (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007)
37. Klaus Zimmermann, Martin Kahanec, Amelie Constant, Don DeVoretz, Liliya Gataullina, and Anzelika Zaiceva, "Study on the Social and Labour Market Integration of Ethnic Minorities," IZA Research Report 16, 2008
38. Claire Adida, David Laitin, and Marie-Anne Valfort, "Identifying Barriers to Muslim Integration in France," Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 107, 52 (2010), 22384-90
39. Rafaela Dancygier and David D. Laitin, "Immigration into Europe: Discrimination, Violence, and Public Policy." Annual Review of Political Science (2014, forthcoming).
40. Mérove Gijsberts and Jaco Dagevos, "At Home in the Netherlands? Trends in Integration of Non-Western Migrants" (The Hague: The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, 2010), 143, 150.
41. Zimmermann et al., 15.
42. John Hills, Mike Brewer, Stephen Jenkins, Ruth Lister, Ruth Lupton, Stephen Machin, Colin Mills et al., "An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK: Report of the National Equality Panel" (London: Government Equalities Office, 2010).
43. Jonathan Laurence and Justin Vaisse, Integrating Islam: Political and Religious Challenges in Contemporary France (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2006); 56
44. see, also, Martin Schain, "Review Essay: The Comparative Politics of Immigration," Comparative Politics, 44 (July 2012), 481-97
45. Romain Garbaye, Getting into Local Power: The Politics of Ethnic Minorities in British and French Cities (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005).
46. Alistair Cole and Peter John, Local Governance in England and France London: Routledge, 2001), 19-20.
47. Philip Nanton, "Community Politics and the Problem of Partnership: Ethnic Minority Participation in Urban Regeneration Networks," in Shamit Saggar, ed., Race and British Electoral Politics (London: UCL Press, 1998), 223-43
48. Greater London Authority, "Regeneration in London's Black and Minority Ethnic Communities" (London: Greater London Authority, 2006)
49. Jill Rutter and Maria Latorre, "Social Housing Allocation and Immigrant Communities" (Manchester: Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2009).
50. John Eade, The Politics of Community (Aldershot: Avebury, 1989); Dancygier 2010.
51. Herman Ouseley, "Community Pride Not Prejudice: Making Diversity Work in Bradford" (Bradford: Bradford Vision, 2001).
52. Larry Ray, David Smith, and Liz Wastell, "Shame, Rage and Racist Violence," British Journal of Criminology, 44 (May 2004), 350-68.
53. Chris Allen, "From Race to Religion: The New Face of Discrimination," in Tahir Abbas, ed., Muslim Britain:Communities under Pressure (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 49-65: 59; emphasis in original.
54. Robert Ford and Matthew J. Goodwin, "Angry White Men: Individual and Contextual Predictors of Support for the British National Party," Political Studies, 58 (February 2010), 1-25.
55. John R. Bowen, Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010), 117.
56. "A Presidential Race Leaves French Muslims Feeling Like Outsiders, " New York Times, April 4, 2012.
57. Eric Roose, The Architectural Representation of Islam:Muslim-Commissioned Mosque Design in the Netherlands (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009).
58. Bowen.
59. Richard Gale, "Representing the City: Mosques and the Planning Process in Birmingham," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(November 2005), 1161-79: 1169.
60. National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). British Social Attitudes Survey, 2008 [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], March 2020. SN: 6390.
61. The Appendix is available at www.princeton.edu/~rdancygi.
62. See Clive D. Field, "Revisiting Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain, 2007-10," in Marc Helbling, ed., Islamophobia in the West:Measuring and Explaining Individual Attitudes (London: Routledge, 2012), 147-61.
63. Philip Lewis, Islamic Britain:Religion, Politics, and Identity among British Muslims:Bradford in the 1990s (London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 1994).
64. Gale, 1175.
65. Eren Tatari, "The Contingency Theory of Descriptive Representation: Muslims in British Local Government," Indiana University, 2010.
66. Steve Leach, The Changing Role of Local Politics in Britain (Bristol: The Policy Press, 2006)
67. The Labour Party, The Labour Party Rule Book 2008, London: The Labour Party, 2008.
68. It is also possible that voting is an affirmation of identity (see Horowitz). Prejudicial views about out-groups can cause voting for in-group members. If parties believe that this mechanism applies, similar observable implications result. Voters who hold prejudicial views are concentrated in low-income, low-education areas. To the extent that out-group salience and identity threats rise with the size of the outgroup, Muslims will receive less support by a larger share of voters in areas with sizable Muslim populations and high levels of deprivation; on salience and threat, see Miles Hewstone, Mark Rubin, and Hazel Willis, "Intergroup Bias," Annual Review of Psychology, 53 (2002), 575-604.
69. On information and preference-based accounts, see Kanchan Chandra, Why Ethnic Parties Succeed: Patronage and Ethnic Headcounts in India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
70. Daniel P. Posner, Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
71. Karen Ferree, "Explaining South Africa's Racial Census," Journal of Politics, 68 (November 2006), 803-15
72. Evan Lieberman and Gwyneth McClendon, "The Ethnicity-Policy Link in Sub-Saharan Africa," Comparative Political Studies, 46 (May 2013), 574-602.
73. In the sample (see below), close to one in five Muslim candidates bears the name "Mohammed" or "Islam," while many others have names that non-Muslim voters will also likely recognize as Muslim, such as "Hussain" or "Abdul."
74. Purdam.
75. F. Lakha, D. R. Gorman, and P. Mateos, "Name Analysis to Classify Populations by Ethnicity in Public Health: Validation of Onomap in Scotland," Public Health, 125 (October 2011).
76. The correlation between the percentage of residents without qualifications (of households headed by semiskilled and unskilled workers) and economic deprivation is .62 (.79) (p 5 .000).
77. The correlation between the overall (Muslim) unemployment rate and deprivation is .75 (.66) (p 5 000). To calculate the latter, I restrict the sample to wards where at least 100 Muslims reside. The correlation between economic deprivation and the percentage of Muslims is .28 (p 5.000).
78. Rafaela Dancygier, "Electoral Rules or Electoral Leverage? Explaining Muslim Representation in England," World Politics (forthcoming).
79. Norris and Lovenduski.
80. On the Muslim vote in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion, see John Curtice, Stephen Fisher, and Robert Ford, "Appendix 2: An Analysis of the Results," in Dennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, eds., The British General Election of 2010 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), 385-426.
81. It is not the case that no Muslims run here. When the Muslim population is below 5 (10) percent, 167. (305) Labour candidates are Muslim, representing 3.4 (5.3) percent of all Labour candidates.
82. A generalized additive model suggests a similar curvilinear effect.
83. For example, Solomos and Back; Sarah Glynn, "East End Bengalis and the Labour Party - The End of a Long Relationship?" in Claire Dwyer and Caroline Bressy, eds., New Geographies of Race and Racism (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), 67-82.
84. On unfavorable placement, see also Dancygier (forthcoming).
85. Rufus P. Browning, Dale R. Marshall, and David H. Tabb, Protest Is Not Enough: The Struggle of Blacks and Hispanics for Equality and Urban Politics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984).
86. See Norris and Lovenduski on this issue.
87. Colin Rallings, Michael Thrasher, Galina Borisyuk, and Mary Shears, "Parties, Recruitment and Modernisation: Evidence from Local Election Candidates," Local Government Studies, 36 (June 2010), 361-79.
88. Dancygier 2010; Eade; Glynn.
89. Regarding Bradford, see M. J. Le Lohé, "Participation in Elections by Asians in Bradford," in Ivor Crew, ed., The Politics of Race (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1975), 84-122. Regarding Birmingham, see Solomos and Back.
90. For example, Garbaye 2005; Edward Fieldhouse and David Cutts, "Mobilisation or Marginalisation? Neighbourhood Effects on Muslim Electoral Registration in Britain in 2001," Political Studies, 56 (June 2008), 333-54.
91. EMBES.
92. Additional inflows arrived via East Africa after being expelled by leaders of newly independent African nations.
93. EMBES.
94. Hills et al.
95. Allen, 55.
96. Bleich.
97. Ceri Peach and Richard Gale, "Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs in the New Religious Landscape of England," The Geographical Review, 93 (October 2003), 469-90: 479.
98. On this issues, see Janna Bray, "The Local Politics of Muslim Immigration," unpublished manuscript.