In recent years, the incorporation of migrants has been discussed in the light of either citizenship or of transnational and multicultural belonging. The ensuing debate about the role of the nation-state confronted one with the other. While the first is relatively static in its conception the latter struggles to conceptualize ...
(Show more)In recent years, the incorporation of migrants has been discussed in the light of either citizenship or of transnational and multicultural belonging. The ensuing debate about the role of the nation-state confronted one with the other. While the first is relatively static in its conception the latter struggles to conceptualize national belonging and inclusion. I suggest that looking at the changing role of memories in public debates about migration incorporation helps to relate both approaches and to understand the changing nature of migrant and national belonging. Social memories are an important means to construct social cohesion. How society is constructed depends on how the past is remembered and how memories are employed.
In this paper, I explore what role memories of a host society play for the incorporation of immigrants by examining Australia’s post-Second World War immigration and social inclusion policies. Australia has always been an explicit immigrant country, but with very distinct and varying notions of not only who may belong but also – which is more important here – how new members are included. Specifically, I explore how memories were used to either promote citizenship, the predominant means of political inclusion until the 1970s, and subsequently, how memories supported the establishment and development of multiculturalism. I examine the shifting relationship between Australia Day, commemorating the first arrival of Europeans, and naturalization ceremonies as well as the foundation of migration museums since the 1980s. Originally, the past stood for a trajectory of political action from which civic responsibilities derived for being a citizen. Later, the past became a point of reference for cultural and ‘ethnic’ identity in a multicultural society. I argue that analyzing to the role of memories the 1970s can be understood to stand for a major transformation of social inclusion and migrant incorporation, from a predominantly civic perception towards a mostly communal imagination.
In a final step, I impose the historical findings of, on the one hand, civic and, on the other, communal belonging to more recent developments. The introduction of the Australian citizenship test in 2007, which examines among other themes the applicant’s knowledge of Australian history, stands for a further transformation, back to a civic notion of Australian belonging while keeping with the communal imagination of society. Thus, it offers a case to examine the relationship between both forms of belonging and incorporation as two sides of one coin. In conclusion, I will add some remarks on why it is difficult but very helpful to transfer these results onto European cases, especially Germany.
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