Étude comparée de l’action politique au sein des communautés italiennes au Québec et en Suisse de 1945 jusqu’au milieu des années 1960

The author studies the political evolution of Italians in Quebec and Switzerland between 1945 and the mid-1960s using a microcomparative approach. He concludes that although born out of the same post-war migratory wave, Italians in Quebec and Switzerland experienced a somewhat different political evolution. Microcomparison shows that the interaction of factors connected to Italy (the political heritage), to the host society (the political system) and to the migrant community (demographic transformations) shaped the political life of the two communities. Institutional discrimination and hostile public opinion did not prevent Italians in Quebec from obtaining socioeconomic mobility, nor impede their political participation. In Switzerland, a closed political system and an almost total absence of integration led to massive returns.

Studi Emigrazione

Vol. 41

no. 155

599-618

September 2004

fr