Episode 16 - Rafaela Dancygier. Dilemmas of Inclusion and Minority Representation

Transformation of European Politics Podcast

In this episode, I talk to Rafaela Dancygier, who is Professor of Politics and Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. We talk about her book “Dilemmas of Inclusion” which was published in 2017 with Princeton University Press. The book investigates how and why political parties include Muslim candidates in Western Europe. Muslims have grown as a share of the electorate so parties have an incentive to appeal to them. However, many Muslims also hold values on cultural issues such as gender equality or LGBT rights that differ strongly from other electorates that parties want to appeal to. This creates a dilemma especially for parties on the Left. Hence, when parties want to do more than symbolic appeals to Muslim communities this can lead to negative trade-offs in the long run such as unstable support patterns but also a reduction in female candidates. The conversation also focuses on questions of minority representation more generally and which factors prevent higher levels of migrant background politicians. If you want to know more about Rafaela and her research you can follow her on Twitter under at RDancygier or visit her website https://scholar.princeton.edu/rdancygi/home I hope you enjoy the conversation. Political science recommendation. Jessice Trounstine. 2018. Segregation by Design. Cambridge University Press