Immmigrants and their associations: A global and historical perspective

Abstract

This essay discusses the definition of voluntary associations and the principal impetus for associational activities among immigrant newcomers. Using examples from specific types of organisation, it examines the factors that shape immigrants' formal sociability. The paper addresses the class and gender composition of memberships, compares the associative practices of the late 19th century’s immigrants with those of the early 21st century, and discusses the issue of state involvement. The essay shows, from a global and historical perspective, how quasi-universal processes and local and temporal specificities shaped associational practices in a way that transcended the ethno-national traditions and characteristics of particular immigrant groups and host countries.