The research problem of this thesis is to explore the effects of top-down, bureaucratic definitions of belonging and social identity on urban social relations. More specifically, the thesis analyses the ways in which the nativist categorisations of indigeneity in Kano and autochtonie in Amsterdam can help to understand the tensions between ethnic groups in these two cities. Methodologically, the study is designed as a least-similar, comparative exploration and uses mixed qualitative and quantitative methods in its case studies of Kano and Amsterdam. Theoretically, this study uses identity cleavages and identification as the mediators between policy categories and social relations. It combines social-psychological, historical, and institutional theories to link bureaucratic nativism to ethnic identities and, finally, to conflictual (or ‘destructive’) interethnic relations. The resulting theoretical argument of the thesis is that nativist policy categorisations are likely conducive to antagonism, avoidance, and conflict between groups defined as ‘natives’ and ‘settlers’. The central finding of the thesis is that both in Kano and in Amsterdam, indigeneity and autochtonie have entrenched a primordial and competitive (or ‘exclusionary’) notion of ethnic identities and have thus been conducive to interethnic antagonism, avoidance, and conflict. Introduced at a time of rapid immigration, social change, and persistent horizontal inequalities, the two top-down policy categories came to redefine urban belonging in Kano and Amsterdam. As a result, previously apolitical ethnic boundaries between ‘natives’ and ‘settlers’ became politicised, connected to exclusionary definitions of religion and class, and ranked on the basis of their claim to a primordial ‘native’ status - that is, their status as historical ‘first-comers’ in their place of residence. The categorisation and group positioning effects of nativism have, therefore, intensified the urban struggle to belong in Kano and Amsterdam. At the same time, however, the thesis underlines that ethnic conflict in Kano and Amsterdam is limited, partly because nativist forms of belonging are continuously challenged by, for example, inclusive multiculturalism in Kano and urban citizenship in Amsterdam.

Lamaholot is a population found on Flores and in the Solor Archipelago of Eastern Indonesia. The population is village-based and divided into patrilineal descent groups. Marriage is coupled with bridewealth and follows a pattern of asymmetric marriage alliance between descent groups. This thesis shows that a small group of Lamaholot in the administrative regency of East Flores shares certain traditions with a neighbouring population called Ata Tana ‘Ai. Ata Tana ‘Ai are a sub-group of the Sikka population in the administrative regency of Sikka. Descent group among Ata Tana ‘Ai are matrilineal and households were traditionally based in scattered gardens. Marriage is not coupled with bridewealth and instances of asymmetric marriage alliance between descent groups are here a consequence rather than a cause of marriage. The current fieldsite seems to have been part of the ceremonial system of Ata Tana ‘Ai and also to have shared a tradition of dispersed settlement in the gardens. The descent groups might initially have been matrilineal, but in the recent past there was also a habit of dividing children between the parental descent groups. Recent traditions of dividing children can be found throughout central-east Flores, but seemingly not to same extent as at the fieldsite. The payment of elephant’s tusks was a central feature in the acquisition of group members at the fieldsite and could be paid by both men and women. These payments were not necessarily tied to marriage and did not serve as bridewealth. In the last century outer social factors, such as the Catholic mission and the creation of the Dutch colonial state, have resulted in that many of the traditional practices at the fieldsite have been replaced with traditions from Lamaholot elsewhere. The residence pattern is now village-based, but gardens retain a central social and ritual position. The role of the elephant’s tusks has taken different expressions throughout this period of social change, and alongside the changing role of tusks, the traditional social and material authority of women at the fieldsite has declined, whereas that of men has increased. This thesis examines the current and the traditional practices in and around the fieldsite, and focuses on local definitions of descent group, kinship, and inheritance, looking at both biological and social perspectives.

Through close textual analysis of 20^th century Czech anthropological texts from the Revivalist and Socialist periods and contemporary social research conducted after the Velvet Revolution, I demonstrate certain prominent discourses of identity developed in early Bohemian anthropology and their continuities in present day popular discourses. In each period, identity is deeply intertwined with teleological theories of history with Czech populations at the apex of cultural evolutionary development. In the Revivalist period this apex was believed to be the democratic nation state, transitioning to a Marxist nation state in the Socialist period, and in the contemporary period is conceived of as a neoliberal nation state. A major function of anthropology in the Revivalist and Socialist periods was to legitimate either period’s respective teleological theory and Czech possession of relevant values as 'objective' and 'natural' fact, a general mode of discourse which continued in the contemporary period in numerous editorials in the 1990s on the advantages of capitalism. The contemporary manifestation has particularly noteworthy consequences for the Roma minority, which I argue has provided Czech discourses with an ethnic category 'anti-thetical' to their own identity, providing a 'repository' for negative Czech self-stereotypes emerging from collaboration in the Socialist period.

Chicha (2009) constate un « trou noir » dans la littérature en ce qui a trait au processus qui engendre une plus forte déqualification à l’endroit des immigrantes universitaires. Ce « trou noir » est considéré comme problématique. D’une part, le gouvernement québécois tente de mettre en place des politiques d’immigration qui recrutent des immigrants ayant un capital humain élevé dans l’espoir qu’ils s’insèrent facilement sur marché de l’emploi. D’autre part, la présence plus marquée de déqualification de ce bassin de main d’œuvre démontre un écart entre la volonté politique et la situation réelle en emploi de ces immigrants. Il semble donc exister un problème de discrimination systémique lorsqu’il est question de déqualification des travailleuses immigrantes. Par souci d’équité et dans l’espoir d’avoir une meilleure compréhension du processus menant à la déqualification des immigrantes les objectifs de cette thèse sont de 1- mieux saisir le concept de discrimination en emploi et 2- mettre en place des mesures mieux adaptées pour s’attaquer à cette discrimination. Pour expliquer ce « trou noir », nous considérons que l’approche systémique est pertinente à cause de sa une vision holistique. Nous avons rencontré 52 immigrantes universitaires qui ont partagé leur parcours professionnel pré et post-migratoire. Les thématiques abordées touchaient à de nombreux sujets telles que leur formation, leur expérience professionnelle, leur stratégie d’unité familiale immigrante, leurs démarches concernant tant le processus de reconnaissance de leurs diplômes étrangers que leur insertion sur le marché de l’emploi, le climat de travail, etc. Les résultats de cette recherche indiquent que la discrimination en emploi est toujours présente sur le marché de l’emploi au Québec. De plus, l’origine ethnique, tel que la couleur de la peau, affecte les attitudes, comportements et propos des acteurs du milieu du travail à l’endroit des xiii immigrantes universitaires. L’application des typologies de Van Laer et Janssens (2011) et de Bonilla-Silva (2006) contribue à l’identification des attitudes, des comportements et des propos pouvant être considérés comme étant du racisme subtil. L’un des avancements de cette thèse est l’amélioration du cadre d’analyse systémique afin de mieux comprendre les difficultés à l’emploi des immigrantes universitaires. Les différentes théories empruntées de la psychologie sociale telles que les théories de similarité attraction, de catégorisation sociale et de qualité d’échanges entre subordonné et supérieur (Roberson et Block, 2001) permettent de peaufiner ce cadre d’analyse systémique, puisqu’il permet de mieux saisir les relations, parfois complexes, qui peuvent s’établir entre les différents acteurs et résulter en de la discrimination flagrante ou subtile. / Chicha (2009) observes a ‘’black hole’’ in publications regarding the process that allows for a a higher rate of employment deskilling of immigrant women with university education; a ‘’black hole’’ that is considered to be a real problem. On one hand, the Quebec government is trying to implement immigration policies to increase the recruiting of immigrants with higher human capital, in the hope that they will readily find employment. On the other hand, a higher rate of employment diskilling in this group of workers shows that there is a dichotomy between their actual situation on the job market, and the government’s political objectives. Therefore, there appears to be systemic discrimination on the subject of employment diskilling targeting immigrant workers. In order to address this social justice issue and in the hope of getting a better understanding of the process that leads to employment diskilling of immigrant women, we hope this thesis will better define the concept of discrimination in employment and set the table for implementing more efficient policies that will effectively fight this particular type of discrimination. We consider that the holistic views that caracterize the systemic approach make it the best way to explain this ‘’black hole’’. We have met with 52 university-educated immigrant women; they have shared with us their professional work experience prior to and following their emigration to Canada. We addressed numerous issues such as their education; their professional experience; their planing for the migration of their family; the active steps they took both for the recognition of their foreign university degrees and for getting a job; their workplace experience, etc. The results of our research reveal that discrimination remains an issue in the job market in xv Quebec. Furthermore, issues relating to ethnic origin and skin color still permeate attitudes, behaviors and language, targeting immigrant women with university education in the job market. Van Laer & Janssens (2011) typologies were useful for identifying attitudes, behaviors and comments which could be considered subtle racism. We hope that one of the contributions of the present thesis will be the improvement of the systemic analysis framework , which will lead to a better understanding of university-educated immigrant women. Diverse theories pertaining to social psychology such as similarity attraction theory; social categorisation theory, LMX, (Roberson & Block, 2001) make it possible to refine this systemic analysis framework, and allow for a better understanding of the sometimes complex relations that can develop between individuals and result in open or subtle racism.

Globally, twenty-seven countries have resettlement programs associated with UNHCR - representing commitments to the international refugee framework and domestic commitments to those refugees resettled. Since 1975, the US has resettled over three million refugees, including over 75,000 Bhutanese refugees since 2008 - more than all other countries combined on both accounts. The US Office of Refugee Resettlement has the mandate to 'make available sufficient resources for employment training and placement in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency among refugees as quickly as possible' (The Refugee Act of 1980). Nevertheless, their economic self-sufficiency and the intertwined ideas of employment and wellbeing remain little examined. A global systematic review of available high-quality evidence examined whether interventions affect resettled refugees' economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing. Although 9,260 citations were reviewed from a wide variety of academic, policy, and grey literature, no studies met inclusion criteria. This Campbell-registered systematic review concludes that evidence is insufficient to determine if programs affect resettled refugees' economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing. Subsequently, qualitative research explored existing interventions to improve the economic self-sufficiency of resettled refugees, their theories of change, and perceptions of effectiveness in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Program design follows a policy mandate and expects that initial employment leads to sustained self-sufficiency and wellbeing, albeit without measuring these outcomes or providing long-term assistance. The findings serve as a basis for future research and reveal programming implications for the Bhutanese refugee community in Pittsburgh and broadly for refugee resettlement. Next, a cross-sectional survey of 145 randomly selected Bhutanese refugees in Pittsburgh (a response rate of 92.9%) was conducted to provide groundbreaking demographics, rates of economic self-sufficiency, and correlates with improved outcomes. The population was overwhelmingly low-income with high usage of certain assistance such as food assistance. Both bivariate relationships and predictive models for employment, gross income, wages, assistance usage, and having 'enough' money to pay the bills were examined. Overall, these paint a complex picture, including the potential importance of neighborhoods, household size, and religious affiliation as well as a more typical picture of the importance of gender, education levels, and time in the country for certain measures of employment, earnings, and household self-sufficiency. The evidence-based perspective on the economic self-sufficiency of resettled refugees shows that little is known globally, including the potential for interventions to cause harm or success. Understanding the employment services and perspectives of economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing for the Bhutanese population provides a lens to view not only the challenges and successes of this population, but also national and international obligations. As one focus group participant stated, 'Government should understand the nature of the refugees arriving and put us with jobs that ... allow the life to sustain.'

Syftet med detta arbete är att, dels ur ett fastighetsrättsligt perspektiv, dels ett folkrättsligt perspektiv, utreda om Sveriges urbefolkning samerna kan sägas ha förvärvat en äganderätt till marken i Lappland enligt svensk rätt, eller om detta enbart handlar om en bruksrätt inkluderande renskötsel, jakt och fiske. Vad gäller det fastighetsrättsliga perspektivet har samerna haft en mycket stark fastighetsrättslig ställning på 1600- och 1700-talet. Då behandlades samernas lappskatteland som sådan skattejord, som skattebönderna sedermera genom lagstiftning automatiskt förvärvade full äganderätt till. Så skedde dock inte för samernas del. I stället trängdes de undan från stora delar av sina ursprungliga marker på grund av bl.a. kolonisation, exploateringsintressen, samt nedvärdering av nomadkulturen. Från att ha varit i stor majoritet blev de en minoritet på sina gamla marker. Dessa marker har sedermera kommit att betraktas som kronojord i statens ägo, vilket innebär en stor förskjutning av samernas fastighetsrättliga ställning inom loppet av fyra sekler. Gällande rätt garanterar inte samer som är medlemmar av en sameby någon starkare rätt än en bruksrätt, som till vissa delar är svagare än vad som gäller för andra bruksrättsinnehavare i Sverige. Praxis utesluter emellertid inte att renskötselrätten kan ha gett upphov till äganderätt, särskilt i nordligaste Sverige. Att samerna haft svårt att hävda sin äganderätt kan bero på att rättssystemet inte har haft en egentlig förståelse för rennäringens speciella förutsättningar, vilket gör att exempelvis beviskraven blir höga att nå upp till. Min slutsats är dock att övertygande bevis finns för att samerna har förvärvat en äganderätt, åtminstone till statlig kronomark i Lappland, oavsett om lagstiftningen för närvarande tillerkänner dem detta eller ej. Vad gäller vinterbetesmarker i Lappland föreligger inte lika starka bevis för att en äganderätt skulle ha uppstått, men däremot en bruksrätt som är starkare än dagens lagstiftning tillerkänner samerna. Vad gäller det folkrättsliga perspektivet ger de konventioner Sverige ingått inte uttryckligen stöd för att samernas markrättigheter skall erkännas, och svensk lagstiftning får sägas uppfylla de minimikrav de ställer. Sverige har dock fått internationell kritik för att inte ha funnit en lösning på och förbättrat rättssäkerheten angående samiska markrättigheter. Inte heller har Sverige ratificerat ILO-konvention nr. 169 om ursprungsfolk och stamfolk i självstyrande länder. Anledningen är just att bestämmelser som reglerar markrättigheter inte har ansetts förenliga med svenska rättsförhållanden. Man kan dock hoppas på att Sverige framöver kommer att ta intryck av den internationella utvecklingen vad gäller erkännande av urbefolkningars markanspråk. / The aim of this thesis is to examine whether the Sami people, who is an indigenous people living in the north of Sweden, could have acquired ownership of land areas in Lapland according to Swedish law, or whether they only have a right to use the land that they traditionally occupy for reindeer breeding, hunting and fishing. The question is dealt with from a land law as well as an international law approach. Concerning the land law approach, the Sami people has had a very strong position close to ownership during the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, the Samis paid tax for their lands, which meant that they were not considered to belong to the Crown, but were treated in the same way as the independent farmers’ lands. However, while the farmers through a declaration from the King in 1789 automatically achieved full ownership of their lands, the Sami people did not. Instead, the Samis were pressed back from large parts of their original territory because of colonisation, exploitation and depreciation of their nomadic way of living. Once a majority, they found themselves a minority in their own land and their territory had become the Crown’s property. Undoubtedly, there has been an extraordinary shifting of the Sami people’s land rights within four centuries. Current law does only guarantee the members of the Sami villages the right to use land for reindeer breeding, hunting and fishing, and this right is in some aspects even weaker than that of other Swedish citizens with similar rights. Still, case law does not exclude the possibility that reindeer breeding could have originated right of ownership, especially in Lapland. My findings on this area are that there is convincing evidence that the Sami people has acquired right of ownership on the lands which they traditionally occupy all year around. On the lands that they share with others, they have a strong right to use the land during the winter, probably stronger than the legislation provides for. What concerns the international law approach, Swedish legislation does fulfil the minimum demands according to the conventions the country has ratified. Still, Sweden has been criticized of not finding a balanced solution to and improving legal certainty on Sami land rights. Sweden has not ratified the ILO Convention no. 169 con-cerning indigenous and tribal peoples in independent countries. The reason for this is mainly the article which aims at strengthening the indigenous peoples’ land rights, which Sweden does not find compatible with national law. Still, one can hope that the ongoing international development on the area will show the way, and that Sweden will pay attention to it in future legislation.

<p>Syftet med detta arbete är att, dels ur ett fastighetsrättsligt perspektiv, dels ett folkrättsligt perspektiv, utreda om Sveriges urbefolkning samerna kan sägas ha förvärvat en äganderätt till marken i Lappland enligt svensk rätt, eller om detta enbart handlar om en bruksrätt inkluderande renskötsel, jakt och fiske.</p><p>Vad gäller det fastighetsrättsliga perspektivet har samerna haft en mycket stark fastighetsrättslig ställning på 1600- och 1700-talet. Då behandlades samernas lappskatteland som sådan skattejord, som skattebönderna sedermera genom lagstiftning automatiskt förvärvade full äganderätt till. Så skedde dock inte för samernas del. I stället trängdes de undan från stora delar av sina ursprungliga marker på grund av bl.a. kolonisation, exploateringsintressen, samt nedvärdering av nomadkulturen. Från att ha varit i stor majoritet blev de en minoritet på sina gamla marker. Dessa marker har sedermera kommit att betraktas som kronojord i statens ägo, vilket innebär en stor förskjutning av samernas fastighetsrättliga ställning inom loppet av fyra sekler.</p><p>Gällande rätt garanterar inte samer som är medlemmar av en sameby någon starkare rätt än en bruksrätt, som till vissa delar är svagare än vad som gäller för andra bruksrättsinnehavare i Sverige. Praxis utesluter emellertid inte att renskötselrätten kan ha gett upphov till äganderätt, särskilt i nordligaste Sverige. Att samerna haft svårt att hävda sin äganderätt kan bero på att rättssystemet inte har haft en egentlig förståelse för rennäringens speciella förutsättningar, vilket gör att exempelvis beviskraven blir höga att nå upp till. Min slutsats är dock att övertygande bevis finns för att samerna har förvärvat en äganderätt, åtminstone till statlig kronomark i Lappland, oavsett om lagstiftningen för närvarande tillerkänner dem detta eller ej. Vad gäller vinterbetesmarker i Lappland föreligger inte lika starka bevis för att en äganderätt skulle ha uppstått, men däremot en bruksrätt som är starkare än dagens lagstiftning tillerkänner samerna.</p><p>Vad gäller det folkrättsliga perspektivet ger de konventioner Sverige ingått inte uttryckligen stöd för att samernas markrättigheter skall erkännas, och svensk lagstiftning får sägas uppfylla de minimikrav de ställer. Sverige har dock fått internationell kritik för att inte ha funnit en lösning på och förbättrat rättssäkerheten angående samiska markrättigheter. Inte heller har Sverige ratificerat ILO-konvention nr. 169 om ursprungsfolk och stamfolk i självstyrande länder. Anledningen är just att bestämmelser som reglerar markrättigheter inte har ansetts förenliga med svenska rättsförhållanden. Man kan dock hoppas på att Sverige framöver kommer att ta intryck av den internationella utvecklingen vad gäller erkännande av urbefolkningars markanspråk.</p> / <p>The aim of this thesis is to examine whether the Sami people, who is an indigenous people living in the north of Sweden, could have acquired ownership of land areas in Lapland according to Swedish law, or whether they only have a right to use the land that they traditionally occupy for reindeer breeding, hunting and fishing. The question is dealt with from a land law as well as an international law approach.</p><p>Concerning the land law approach, the Sami people has had a very strong position close to ownership during the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, the Samis paid tax for their lands, which meant that they were not considered to belong to the Crown, but were treated in the same way as the independent farmers’ lands. However, while the farmers through a declaration from the King in 1789 automatically achieved full ownership of their lands, the Sami people did not. Instead, the Samis were pressed back from large parts of their original territory because of colonisation, exploitation and depreciation of their nomadic way of living. Once a majority, they found themselves a minority in their own land and their territory had become the Crown’s property. Undoubtedly, there has been an extraordinary shifting of the Sami people’s land rights within four centuries.</p><p>Current law does only guarantee the members of the Sami villages the right to use land for reindeer breeding, hunting and fishing, and this right is in some aspects even weaker than that of other Swedish citizens with similar rights. Still, case law does not exclude the possibility that reindeer breeding could have originated right of ownership, especially in Lapland. My findings on this area are that there is convincing evidence that the Sami people has acquired right of ownership on the lands which they traditionally occupy all year around. On the lands that they share with others, they have a strong right to use the land during the winter, probably stronger than the legislation provides for.</p><p>What concerns the international law approach, Swedish legislation does fulfil the minimum demands according to the conventions the country has ratified. Still, Sweden has been criticized of not finding a balanced solution to and improving legal certainty on Sami land rights. Sweden has not ratified the ILO Convention no. 169 con-cerning indigenous and tribal peoples in independent countries. The reason for this is mainly the article which aims at strengthening the indigenous peoples’ land rights, which Sweden does not find compatible with national law. Still, one can hope that the ongoing international development on the area will show the way, and that Sweden will pay attention to it in future legislation.</p>

No description available.

Le régime communiste a redéfini le sport, imposant la pratique de cette activité pour la masse. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la politique du régime communiste roumain s’inspire du modèle soviétique. La these evidence la relation entre l’Etat roumain et les stars sportives issues des minorités nationales. On analyse un processus dynamique de transformation identitaire, qui dans un contexte socio-politique communiste favorise l’instrumentalisation du sport. Dans ce sens, le national-communisme cherche à intégrer les sportifs dans un système bien hiérarchisé. En dépit de la massification du sport et de l’implication importante des Roumains, les sportifs issus des minorités obtiennent de bons résultats et ils sont sélectionnés dans les équipes nationales. De cette perspective, le sport ne représente pas seulement un loisir, mais il devient un domaine plus influent du point de vue idéologique. La thèse regarde comment les stars sportives issues des minorités ont une influence dans la société roumaine, mais que l’Etat contrôle la médiatisation et la participation des sportifs dans les compétitions internationales, leurs contrats, et jusqu’à leurs noms. Nous parvenons par cet intermédiaire à expliquer la manière avec laquelle la société réagit aux performances de ces sportifs et avec laquelle le Parti Communiste impose l’image des héros nationaux pour de telles vedettes. Approfondir un tel sujet aide à la reconstruction d’un aspect important de la vie des minorités. <p><p><p>This PhD thesis makes a radiography of a new problem for a society where the presence of minorities is a reality. Before the communism, Romania had an important number of minorities, and their athletes contributed to the development of sport, having a strong identity and local pride. In communism, the stars coming from the minorities (national or ethnical) had another statute. I propose an interdisciplinary study and I utilize concepts from history, sociology, human geography or anthropology. One of the important aspects in my PhD research is to propose a concept built by me, identity doping (fr. Dopage identitaire, rom. Dopaj identitar), represented by a series of actions designed to transform one or more athletes from an ethnic or national minority into a national hero, which means a complex process of identity change. The origin of this joint of words is very simple and means joining the notion of doping, particularly used first by totalitarian systems among athletes, to the term of identity. My methods cover analyses from mass-media, archives, polls and oral history, toidentify problems and images of national heroes who come from national minorities. For example, we assist to a politic of changing names, more than other countries from communist area. The ”name-nationalization” is an essential step for a new identity, more measurable and<p>prominent than interior feelings. The footballer Laszlo Boloni, with a Hungarian origin, is known like Ladislau Boloni, Katalin Szabo is named in communism Ecaterina Szabo or Hans Moser, a handballer with a German origin, is known like Ioan Moser. The internal realities of many countries with a nationalism-communist regime influenced the life of sport stars. In a state like Romania, where the groups of minorities had an important role in sport development, sport stars from this communisties are promoted like national heroes utilizing the mechanism of “identity doping”. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis is on the Turkish-speaking community, comprising Turkish-Cypriots, Turks from Turkey, and Kurds from Turkey, and ethnic community football in London, which has been conceptualised as a transnational social field. It is intended as a contribution in the debates on the growing importance of issues of diasporic communities, their identity politics, and cultural integration in a context of ‘super-diversity’. There are three major analytical themes. The first is transnational diaspora politics, which is redefined to comprise any relationship of power or interest by mobilising diasporic connections. I argue that the Turkish-speaking community uses ethnic football as a means for communal mobilisation around and representation of their ethnic identity in the public space of London, a city of unique political-economic and symbolic significance for the Cyprus Conflict which helped create the Turkish and Greek Cypriot football leagues in London. I show that the Turkish-speaking community has ever since used football to create and maintain a bridge between London and all the different locations of the community including Cyprus, Turkey, Germany, and beyond. The second major theme is collective identities and how they are (re)produced, represented, and manifested in the diaspora. I argue that the nature of the field of ethnic football as a familiar, open, and welcoming space conveniently positioned between the Turkish-speaking private sphere and the British/Londoner public space has been a major factor accounting for the effectiveness of various identity projects to be pursued within this field. Lastly, after presenting the historical link between modern competitive sports and masculinity, I claim that the one defining aspect of all the ethnic identities reproduced within the field is their masculine character. The last analytical theme is the cultural integration of immigrant communities. Without adopting a normative definition of cultural integration, I have considered the implications of involvement in ethnic community football in terms of belonging, social inclusion, marginalisation, and the psychological development and well-being of the individuals involved. The presented and analysed discussion rejects any automatic causal link between involvement in sports and integration or that involvement in mono-ethnic sporting organisations and segregation. Having reviewed a few exemplary organisations, which used football for integration purposes, and the nature of the ethnic community leagues, I have also argued in this thesis that the field of ethnic community football, again due to its specific nature, structure, and position between the private and public spaces, offers a great potential to be engaged by local and national governments in the service of integration policies.