Arutyunova E., Kuznetsov I. (2021) The Integration Potential of the Host Society: A Comparative Regional Perspective. Mir Rossii, vol. 30, no 2, pp. 6–25 (in Russian). DOI: 10.17323 ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://mirros.hse.ru/article/view/12308 (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 21.04.2021)

Abstract

Based  on  survey  findings  from  three  federal  subjects  of  Russia  (Moscow,  Khanty-Mansi  Autonomous  Okrug  –  Yugra  and  the  Republic  of  Sakha  (Yakutia))  this article analyzes the levels and factors of integration potential of the host population in relation to migrants of other cultures. Using factor analysis, we construct an indicator of the integration potential of the host population. We further identify significant links between a particular level of integration potential and socio-economic, ethnocultural and other variables that characterize the host community. The analysis reveals that the highest integration potential among the studied regions is among the population of Yugra, and the lowest is among the population of Moscow.We show that integration potential is associated with two levels of factors. The  first level  consists  of  factors  of  ethnic  negativism,  which  we  consider  as  an  emergent characteristic  rather  than  as  a  stable  attribute  of  the  host  community.  This  ethnic negativism is not related to the ethnic or religious identity of migrants, but to the perception of their integration into the standards of behavior of the host community. The  results for  the  regions  studied  confirm  that  a  low  level  of  ethnic  negativism  accompanies a higher level of integration potential. A special form of ethnic negativism is, in our view, the “capitalization of ethnicity”, i.e., the desire to consider ethnicity as a form of social capital that is converted into preferences for representatives of some ethnic groups and the basis for discrimination against representatives of other ethnic groups.At the second level, the integration potential of the host society is determined by factors related to the characteristics of group identities in the host population. It is revealed that a high level of group identities of the socio-cultural field (Russian national, ethnic, regional) accompanies  a  higher  level  of  integration  potential  of  the  host  population.  However, in regions of Russia with a long historical interaction of large and comparable ethnic groups, in particular, in the republics of the Russian Federation, high levels of these identities may the lower integration potential of the host population. We attribute this to the current long-term tasks of preserving and developing the ethnocultural heritage, language, basic components of the way of life, etc., which encourages the host community to be more closed