Diversity, uniformity and urban political participation

Our paper aims to analyse the effects of heterogeneity/homogeneity on political participation in three metropolitan areas in Norway. One hypothesis is that socially and/or ethnically homogenous urban areas will have a negative impact on participation. When social groups with different backgrounds are less likely to encounter, the mobilising effect of conflict is weakened. Hence, participation will decline. Another assumption points in a different direction: Diversity may lead to paralysis. Particularly in cases of multiple identities, citizens will be exposed to cross-pressure and will tend to abstain from participating. We have used multilevel modelling in order to investigate the effects of contextual factors on individual behaviour. Hence, the empirical analysis will be based on the combination of two data sets: At the individual level (level 1) we will make use of a comprehensive citizen survey comprising a total of more than 6.000 respondents from three city regions and 73 municipalities. Among these are the three core cities of Oslo, Bergen, and Stavanger. At the aggregate level (level 2) we employ a data set consisting of more than 2.000 variables characterizing the municipalities included in the survey. The analysis reveals a negative relationship between heterogeneity and participation. Hence, our data do not support the contention that social environments consisting of multiple social groups foster vibrant political involvement. On the contrary, our findings lend support to the cross-pressure hypothesis, indicating that the diversity of personal experiences within a community will tend to lessen the citizens’ involvement in political affairs