Intercultural priorities among immigrant organizations in Galicia (Spain): Beyond the offensive and defensive binary

Abstract

[Abstract] In this article we analyze the situation of immigrant organizations during the European economic crisis. We set out to examine how, during a period of heightened economic insecurity, priorities among these multiples roles might shift when members find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation. Data was collected in the form of 16 extended semi-structured interviews with group representatives throughout the Galician autonomous community in north-western Spain. Our data provide an empirically-based study that have led us to adapt Schrover and Vermeulen’s (2005) classification of immigrant association approaches as either defensive (responding to social exclusion) or offensive (emphasizing differences with respect to the destination society), extending this scheme to include a third approach, which our data show to be a priority even under conditions of economic insecurity: claims for intercultural relations with receiving society members with the goal of increased social cohesion and mutual understanding.