Browsing by Subject "framing theory"

In recent years, European societies have been affected by processes of increased diversity and migration. This master’s thesis explores the involvement in the local civil society of migrants. It takes place within the context of organisations of multiethnic composition working for migrants’ conditions and/or rights in the capital cities of Helsinki in Finland and Athens in Greece, two European metropolitan areas with stark differences in their migration, integration, and civil society panorama. The main aim of the study is to investigate how individuals of migrant origin construct and present themselves as agents for civil society organisations. The theoretical framework for the research is informed by previous studies on social movements and the civil society, in particular the social psychological model by Klandermans and the corpus of research stemming from Goffman’s framing theory. Another central theoretical reference is Goffman’s impression management theory, not previously applied to this research area. Adopting a micro-social constructionist perspective, the theoretical concepts listed above are operationalized with the tools offered critical discursive psychology and positioning theory. The data consists of transcripts of semi-structured interviews with five participants in each city, active in different organisations and from different countries of origins. The analysis led to the individuation of three main self-presentation styles across the participants, varying on different dimensions including the fit between them and the organisation, their position towards the organisation’s team and towards its target – migrant communities. The three styles are: Team Player, Enterprising Leader, and Expert Critic. In light of the results, it can be argued that the participants all attempted to present themselves in a positive light as agents for the organisations. Plus, participants’ self-presentations were impacted on one side from their origin and the stereotypes attached to it, on the other from the dominant migration regime and its consequences for migrants and their integration at the local level. Over all, the analysis yields interesting insights on how societal, organisational, and personal characteristics impact the participation and position in the civil society for migrant actors.