Different Types of Diversity, Similar Claims? A Regional Comparison of "old" and "new" Minorities

Accommodating religious, linguistic and cultural diversity while at the same time ensuring cohesion and shared standards of living together are some of the biggest challenges that modern societies face. Due to a history of minority persecution and assimilation, most European states have nowadays implemented minority protection policies for historic minority communities, also referred to as “old” minorities. “Respect for and protection of minorities” is part of the Copenhagen Criteria for EU accession, and “respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities” is outlined as one of the EU’s founding values in Article 2 TEU. While protection measures for “old” minority groups are thus firmly rooted in national and international provisions, no stable system for integrating diversity originating from the most recent migratory flows (“new” minorities) has been established yet. Minorities and migrant groups are regarded as a dichotomy, and largely studied in isolation from each other, when in fact migrant integration frameworks could benefit immensely from the vast experience of minority protection policy and research. The present project aims to bridge this gap, by investigating the under-researched field of claims made by migrants, and comparing them to those of historic minority groups in three regions in Italy and Austria (South Tyrol, Trentino, Tyrol), which are distinguished by the presence or absence of “old” minorities and by migrant populations from different countries of origin. Connecting both research areas is highly beneficial, as there are many overlapping pressing questions, the most important one being how to accommodate linguistic, religious and cultural diversity without endangering societal cohesion or creating parallel societies. First, international documents and standards for the protection of “old” minorities were categorized according to thematic areas, such as language, religion, and respect for diversity. The identified issue areas then served as basis for establishing a questionnaire, and currently a quantitative survey is being carried out (data collection will be concluded at the end of March 2021) in all three case studies, supported also by qualitative interviews conducted with leaders and representatives of migrant organizations. The aim is to find out which claims, opinions, wishes and desires the largest migrant groups in each case study hold, and whether they are even interested in gaining protection provisions similar to the ones in place for “old” minorities. We expect migrants to at least partly voice claims similar to those made by “old” minorities, which would allow for the drafting of a common but differentiated framework outlining the accommodation of linguistic, cultural and religious diversity. This does not imply that full minority rights would have to be extended to all migrant groups, but that protection measures already implemented for minorities could also include migrants in certain policy areas. Migrants could get an increased sense of belonging as an integral but distinct part of the population, which could be beneficial for ensuring participation, and help to prevent the creation of parallel societies.