Voters and representatives: how does immigrant background matter?

Karen Schönwälder, Alex Street

- completed -


This project is part of the overall project Political institutions and the challenge of diversity.

In 2014, building on an earlier study, a population survey and a candidate survey among all candidates for major parties or lists in the local elections were carried out in four cities of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The data sets comprise of about 1000 responses in the population survey (half non-immigrants, half with migration background) and about 700 responses in the candidate survey. They provide the unique opportunity to investigate differences, and interactions, between electorate and activists, and to compare expectations and political preferences of immigrants and non-immigrants. Results have been presented at conferences, and publications, co-authored by Alex Street and Karen Schönwälder, are forthcoming.