Evaluating Political Acculturation Strategies: The Perspective of the Majority and Other Minority Groups

Applying the acculturation framework to the political domain, this research examines how Dutch majority members and members of different minority groups evaluate the political acculturation strategies of an immigrant-origin group. Using an experimental vignette design (N=664), the results show that the strategy of political assimilation (only advance the interests of society) was evaluated most positively, followed by integration (advance the interest of society and of the minority group), and then separation (only advance the interest of the minority group). This was found for the native Dutch as well as the immigrant-origin groups. This suggest that minority members do not view minority outgroups as potential allies to counter the dominance of the majority group, but rather as competitors for political influence. Furthermore, the role of dual identification for the evaluation of ingroup political acculturation depended on the type of political acculturation strategy.