From Inclusive Identities to Inclusive Societies: Exploring Complex Social Identity in the Western Balkans

DOI

In post-conflict societies the mayor disparities reflect the specific ethnic and religious composition and give evidence of institutionalized discrimination. Minority groups are often socially deprived with unequal access to resources. A great deal of recent social-psychological research repeatedly confirms a strong connection between the inclusiveness of individuals’ identities with their support for inclusiveness of the society as a whole (Bodenhausen, 2010). In order to enhance regional and in-country cohesion, more inclusive religious and ethnic identities as well as alternative identities (European, regional, gender, subcultural) need to be cultivated, beside ethnic and religious ones. One important route to it is to define the conditions that foster complex social identity (SIC). The relevant research has demonstrated that people with more complex social identities show higher inter-group tolerance, are more ready to volunteer and be socially active and also, are more likely to endorse social policies relevant to outgroups. This project aims to develop a complex research design intended to deeply explore antecedents and consequences of SIC in the selected countries. Main Objectives were: 1. To explore via interviews the nature and structure of social identity among young people in Western Balkan countries; establish similarities and differences in different social contexts (different countries, different microenvironments – ethnically homogenous or heterogeneous, from the perspective of minority or majority, different socio-demographic background); 2. To explore the relationships between social identity complexity and a number of socially relevant attitudes and behaviours: social dominance orientation, political cynicism, trust in institutions, conservatism-liberalism, attitudes and distance towards out-groups, attitudes toward antidiscrimination policy (i.e. affirmative action) and civic activism; 3.To define contexts that foster complex social identity

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.57693/tn8jwo
Metadata Access https://api.datacite.org/dois/10.57693/tn8jwo
Provenance
Creator Žeželj, Iris; Petrović, Nebojša; Branković, Marija; Jovanović, Olja; Pavlović, Maša; Vladisavljević, Marko; Frichand, Ana; Blazevska-Stoilkovska, Biljana; Turjačanin, Vladimir; Dušanić, Srđan; Teofilović, Irena; Lalić, Siniša; Čehajić-Clancy, Sabina; Pulić, Maja; Pajaziti, Ali; Rustemi, Agron; Qose, Admir; Maloku-Bërdyna, Edona; Kelmendi, Kaltrina
Publisher DASS-BIH
Contributor Admin, Dataverse
Publication Year 2023
OpenAccess true
Representation
Resource Type Dataset
Discipline Social Sciences