Brittle bridges: ethnic segregation across and within civic organizations

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Brittle bridges: ethnic segregation across and within civic organizations
Authors: Kasimir Dederichs, Dingeman Wiertz
Source: European Sociological Review. 41:538-552
Publisher Information: Oxford University Press (OUP), 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: 0504 sociology, 05 social sciences, 0506 political science
Description: Civic organizations are often depicted as vehicles for social integration: Since they gather people around common interests and have relatively low entry barriers, they may facilitate interactions that bridge social divides prevailing in other domains. However, this hopeful portrayal rests on several critical yet largely untested assumptions. This study more closely investigates the bridging potential of civic organizations, focusing on ethnicity as a key social boundary. Using unique Dutch survey data, we show that: (i) There is strong ethnic segregation across civic organizations, which persists after accounting for educational differences between individuals and organizations; (ii) There is ethnic segregation within civic organizations in participants’ contacts with co-members; (iii) Participants integrate less well in organizations with more ethnic outgroup members and are more likely to leave such organizations. In sum, homophilous sorting dynamics when people join, interact within, and leave civic organizations limit their capacity to facilitate positive inter-ethnic contact. Additional efforts are thus necessary for civic organizations to fully live up to their bridging potential and mitigate rather than reinforce existing ethnic divides.
Document Type: Article
Language: English
ISSN: 1468-2672
0266-7215
DOI: 10.1093/esr/jcae047
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi...........11c8c5dfecbd8f294f335a32ddce01dc
Database: OpenAIRE
Be the first to leave a comment!
You must be logged in first