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

November 2015 - June 2015

Four countries, two cities in each country: Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Pazar), Macedonia (Skopje, Tetovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Banja Luka, Sarajevo) and Kosovo (Prishtina, Mitrovica).

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, sub-cultural) 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 out-groups. 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. As for media appearances, we have the following web pages: https://www.facebook.com/sibyouth https://vimeo.com/186140752 http://mondo.rs/a915816/Info/Drustvo/Istrazivanje-o-mladima-u-regionu.html http://sibyouth.org/en/ ISPP conference: http://www.ispp.org/uploads/attachments/13June_FULL_PROGRAM_2016_CLEAN_v1.pdf Linkovi ka medijima: http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/346669/Pogledi/Socijalni-identiteti-mladih https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b4LG_B06pg&feature=youtu.be http://www.6yka.com/novost/100917/istrazivanje-saznajte-kakvi-su-meduetnicki-odnosi-vecine-i-manjine-u-regiji

Majorities identify more strongly with the country than with ethnicity and religion, while minorities identify more strongly with ethnicity and religion, rather than with the country. Compared to majorities, minorities have more complex social identities, but their identities are not more inclusive. The results of our research show that people who demonstrate weaker identifications with ethnic and religious groups, lower social distance and more positive feelings toward ethnic and religious outgroups, and who have better quality of contact with outgroups tend to show greater social identity inclusiveness. People with high social identity complexity are more prone to positive attitudes toward antidiscrimination policies, awareness of group inequalities, and likely to hold egalitarian values and to support group equality. They also tend to have more frequent contacts with outgroups. General feelings toward ethnic and religious outgroups of both minority and majority members are relatively indifferent or cold, while the social distance is moderate. Minorities, due to the fact that they feel more threatened, have less positive and inclusive attitudes toward ethnic and religious outgroups. Average frequency of contact with the outgroup is relatively low; while quality of contact, when it occurs – is relatively high.