Minority arguments on integration : Arabs in the Southern European state of Malta

Abstract

Intercultural relations benefit from the social psychological study of arguments made by different groups about joint projects of mutual concern. This focus allows researchers to map representations of the project in question, among communities in different cultural milieus. This paper presents a study looking at Arabs' views on the project of integration. Arabs' perspectives revolved around six argumentative themes: cultural, economic, psychological, religio-cultural, socio-political or stigma-related. After comparing all claims on integration across the communities involved (the Arab minority and the Maltese majority), we describe Arabs' positive, negative and mixed/ambivalent socio-political claims in detail, complementing a previous study on majority views. This enables a discussion of Arabs' perspectives in view of the semiotic resources relevant to localised intercultural relations. Arabs' argumentative themes clearly reflect three key patterns: (a) social representation of integration as difficult but necessary, (b) minority representation of the majority group as being resistant to integration and (c) de-essentialism of ingroup and outgroup. These patterns contrast with the majority members' arguments in significant ways. Findings are discussed theoretically in view of how minority arguments re-present social processes to advance or resist intercultural projects, and substantively in terms of the application of these findings for ameliorating intercultural relations in local communities.