Encouraging participation in diverse settings: examining the mediating roles of anomie and threat, and the moderating role of community multiculturalism in the relationship between ethnic diversity, and civic participation

This paper contributes to research exploring the relationship between ethnic diversity and civic participation. It places a specific focus on the mediating roles of threat and anomie within this relationship and the further moderating role of community multiculturalism. The additional moderating impact of community multiculturalism on threat and anomie is considered. A focus is placed on Moroccan, Turkish and Dutch residents of Dutch municipalities. The research takes a quantitative approach, using NELLS data to carry out multiple regression analyses. The research gathered mixed results. For each ethnic group, a differing reaction to diversity occurred. Hence while threat, anomie and CM all played a role within the relationship between ethnic diversity and civic participation, the nature of the relationship differed per ethnic group.