En exkluderande europeisk identitet? Upplevelser av bemötande och föreställningar om europeisk identitet, bland personer uppvuxna i Sverige med utomeuropeisk bakgrund

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore how people that have grown up in Sweden with non- European parents (also known as “the 2nd generation of immigrants) perceive their possibilities to fulfil notions of European identity, while also exploring if there are any differences between ethnic groups regarding their possibilities to fulfil such notions. To answer these questions qualitative interviews have been conducted with people from different ethnic groups. The analysis shows that people from all the investigated ethnic groups in their daily life feel that they must handle notions of a European identity, that is perceived as exclusively Christian. These notions also contain different types of racial ideas regarding who´s considered to be European. Some differences were found between the different ethnic groups, but the study surprisingly showed several similarities between them regarding how they were treated and viewed by the rest of the society, and whether they could fulfil notions of a European identity. One conclusion from the study is that regardless of religious affiliation people with non- European roots are subjected to racism and islamophobia. The analysis also indicates that the treatment that these people receive from the surrounding society has an impact on their own ethnical identification.