Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Crafting Citizens And Immigrants : Israeli Immigration Politics In Comparative Perspective, Yeufen Hsieh

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the role of shifting national identity narratives in immigration politics in deeply divided societies by focusing on the case of Israel. It raises a general question: why does a state established upon an ethnocentric national identity subsequently augment its self-definition to include certain non-co-ethnic migrants without applying the extension to all non-co-ethnic groups? I argue that although a country may initially be founded upon a seemingly-unequivocal ethnocentric national identity, this identity is not immutable. Rather, over time, a national dialogue may take place, causing the reexamination of the identity. During the transition, agents redefine “who we are” …