The ultimate key aim of this thesis was to examine how an abstract concept such the multiculturalism is represented in a real life context. In this certain study, I had chosen to examine how these social constructs are represented as the multiculturalist attitudes of the general election candidates. This lead to the research question one: How do multiculturalist attitudes emerge in the case study? The nature of the cluster analysis demands that the researcher determines the examining variables by him-/herself. This gives the researcher comparatively subjective role, yet I must defend myself that the variables I chose indicate multiculturalist attitudes very well in my opinion. I base my argument on how the multiculturalism is defined at the chapter 2.0 Multiculturalism, and on how the multiculturalist attitudes are defined in the chapter 3.0 Values – Attitudes’ Bedrock.
In other words, according to my perceptions, the chosen cluster variables fulfil the benchmarks of what can be understood as multiculturalist attitudes. The question ‘Due to the threat of terrorism, immigration to Finland must be restricted.’ pictures a classical ‘us versus
them’ image that indicates multiculturalism in its heart. The second question, ‘Finland must participate in military interventions against ISIS by educating troops for Iraqi government’, as well as the third question, ‘Finland should carry greater responsibility for the asylum seekers entering to the EU’, illustrate multiculturalism as an umbrella concept that includes plenty of different kind of policies. The questions from the HS’s VAA follow the path of the previous from the YLE’s VAA. Both of the questions, ‘So-called "mean tests" are used for immigrants outside the EU and the EEA seeking for work permits, i. e. obtaining the work permits is restricted’, and ‘If the state provides the establishment of asylum seekers’ reception center to my municipality, the offer must be accepted', presents multiculturalism policies – even in more concrete level than the former questions. As a conclusion, the choice of the above-mentioned questions to cluster variables was validated solution, and it enlightens the abstract embodiment of the multiculturalism in concrete reality.
As part of the first research question was the first research hypothesis (H1): ‘Multiculturalist attitudes are clearly divergent in the case of Finnish general election candidates’. The hypothesis was formed over the general perception that the multiculturalist attitudes have grown tense, which would indicate two clear segments. To test this hypothesis I chose the cluster analysis, which is, despite its explorative status, a popular analysis method. A big sample forced me to use the k-means methods, although I did some experiments with the hierarchical methods to have a confirmation for the two-cluster solution. The results of the cluster analysis showed that the multiculturalist attitudes differ significantly among the candidates and that the candidates comprise two natural different clusters. Hence, the test hypothesis one stayed in force. Already the frequencies of the cluster variables were notably divided in two fringes, which prefaced the logic that there would be two clear segments to be found. The secondary data set showed similar results, giving us more weight that the results could be possible to extrapolate to apply to greater samples, i. e. population. In both cases, the results were toughened up with the variance analysis, ANOVA, which indicated the significance of the results in that matter, that in statistical perspective, the variance between the clusters was greater than within them. It is even ironic that my results represent the very opposite to what the latest public discussion, started by the President Sauli Niinistö, about ‘the average people with common sense’ has trying to paint.
The second research question asked how multiculturalist attitudes differ at the regional level.
At the first hand, it is crucial to bring out that the data samples limited the opportunity to
study the regional differences. The problem with the electoral districts is that they compose large regions emerging cities, towns and rural areas under one district. The size of the districts limited the ability to form clear central regions and peripheral regions. However, I think that my decision to set the four most urban regions to represent central regions was a well-stated solution. Even so, there were some town-like regions left to the peripheral regions’ variable and vice versa. For the empirical research design, the second research question was reformed to a test hypothesis two, H2, ‘Multiculturalist attitudes are more prevalent in capital regions than in peripheries’. The test hypothesis was tested with the binary logistic regression analysis method, which also gave an opportunity to examine other possible dependent factors.
The results of the analysis showed that there is a significant difference in the multiculturalist attitudes in the regional level. As it was presumed, the tolerance was greater in central regions than in the counter group, in peripheries. The similar tests with the secondary data showed a bit different results. The logistic regression model showed that whether the candidate represents a central region or periphery do explains the variance of the multiculturalist attitudes, but not significantly. Some certain factors may explain results of the latter dataset.
Firstly, with the HS's VAA, the distribution of the candidates to the two clusters was unbalanced as there was almost a double of candidates in the pro-multiculturalist cluster than in the counter cluster. Secondly, the majority of the subscribers of the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat lives in cities, which may allocate also to the candidates who has answered to HS’s VAA and who has not. In total 80.2 percent of the candidates had answered to the HS’ VAA, which leaves that a fifth had not. We can only suspect how many of that fifth lives in the peripheral regions, but it could explain the results at some level though.
In addition to the district of living, the earlier research has shown that many other demographical factors can explain person's multiculturalist attitudes too. Inspired by that I also wanted to tests other factors than electoral district within the logistic regression analysis.
As I brought out in the previous chapter, I chose gender and age, and political party variables for further scrutiny. The results showed that above all, gender had a strong influence on the attitudes. In my personal point of view, the outcome is even ironic, as I doubt how worthwhile it is, in general, to segregate people by their gender. The other two demographic dependents were not as unambiguous. Both of them explain the variance of the cases significantly, i. e.
both of the factors had a significant influence to one's cluster membership. However, the logistic regression measures the magnitude of these multi-category variables in a way, where
it compares the categories within. Hence the results of these two variables are in relation to the categories the variable has, which undoubtedly influences to the significance and the magnitude of a class too. Both, in the analysis of the primary and the secondary data, the youth had more tolerant attitudes than their counter groups, though the significance of the results as well as the magnitude varies. What it comes to the political party, the results showed that with a high magnitude and the significance of the variable, it has a central matter to determine a candidate’s multiculturalist attitudes. Nonetheless, because including the political party of a candidate to the analysis would drive the thesis to certainly new paths, I decided to delimit it outside from the analysis itself and only include it in the logistic regression models as a control variable to increase the level of mathematical explanation.
Notwithstanding, does the political party the candidate represents influence to candidates' attitudes, or perhaps the candidate has chosen the certain political party due to their attitudes in the first place?
The third and the last research question was, how does the phenomenological approach to multiculturalism fit with the post-positivist experimental design. In other words, the key here is to assess firstly, how the theoretical approach of the study merged with the case study, and additionally, how the two opposite philosophical disciplines discussed together. First of all, I think the case study indicates well multiculturalism and multiculturalist attitudes in practice, as I already have stated earlier. The questions I chose from the VAAs to the analyses are similar in nature as used in earlier research. They are latent by their nature as the variables in statistical social sciences often are. Hence, the questions indicate well the multi-dimensional nature of the concept of multiculturalism. However, the multi-dimensionality of the multiculturalism induces always a partly subjective aspect. An example of that is the simmering conflict between the multiculturalists and the feminists, where the multiculturalists emphasise the freedom of choice whereas the feminists accentuate that some cultural traditions' distorted gender roles. Overall, the central message from the literature is that multiculturalism is a way of doing, a choice of politics, whereas cultural diversity is a demographic factor, natural embodiment. From this point of view, the case study presents intelligibly what kind of political tools, multiculturalist choices, the parliament is able to do to foster cultural diversity.
Multiculturalist attitudes, immigrant attitudes, and other similar subjects are a comparatively new field of research in behavioural sciences. The lack of domestic literature of the subject
drove me to explore more diligent the international literature. As most of the literature handle with conceptualising the multiculturalism, the clear minority represents case studies about the actual attitudes. This is partly explained by the fact that collecting big samples is relatively burdensome. However, the turn to better is in sight as the use of big data and third-party data sets are getting acquaintance increasingly.
As I mentioned in the text, the image of the time is that the philosophical foundations are not in fashion, but seen as something obligatory. Yet, I hope my thesis has offered the opposite image, as I think that the lack of philosophical effort in nowadays' science is one of the reasons why part of the public does not see the value of scientific research and are ready to harness it to the subject of capitalism. I made myself acquaintance with the multiculturalism with a phenomenological approach. The approach offered me a comprehensive perception about the topic with its all dimensions. The most delicious part of the theoretical concepts was perhaps the understanding of how deep to ethical and moral discussion the multiculturalism can us lead. In other words, in addition, that it is said that the multiculturalism is an umbrella term that includes a boundless number of different policies and practical politics, it is also in my understanding an ethical choice, an ideology one could even say. Hence, the multiculturalism should be a central question of all policies as it has an influence not ‘just' to hundreds of millions of immigrants' and other cultural minorities' life, but the level of multiculturalist policies also determine in which kind of world our children will be born.
To develop one’s abstract understanding of the reality the phenomenological approach was perfect, but I found the post-positivism more suitable to study how the social constructs arise from the empirical study. The post-positivism with its law-like statements offered a concrete way to bespeak the multiculturalist attitudes in a real world example. With a hint of essentialism and with an inductive empirical manner I was able to demarcate my case study to form a coherent, measurable ensemble that is reliable and valid. Although the post-positivistic discipline had a major influence on the form of the case study, I want to underline, that in the first place the post-positivism is not about the empirical methods, but a manner to react to the reality. First and foremost, the critical realism is an answer to the dominion of hermeneutic and relativist schools that pay tribute to individualistic manners and fragmented narratives.
The aim of the case study was not that much to find totally new answers of aspects, but more like to give an interpretation of how the multiculturalist attitudes arise from the study and how
they indicate the theoretical concepts. Additionally, the aim was to offer a statistical approach to the subject and show that as cruel as it might hear, the statistical approach and research subject’s treatment as numbers might produce a point of view to the subject, which with hermeneutical approaches would not have been possible.
The core conclusions of the case study are that the multiculturalist attitudes are strictly divided, hence the discussion about the polarised nation is not fabricated. More detailed examination of the clusters showed that, in line with earlier research, the demographic factors have a strong effect on the attitudes. The case study supports the findings of earlier studies that district of living, gender and political conviction influence to the attitudes. Hence, the study gives its support to the Contact and Conflict theories too. The Contact theory states that the intercourse of different social groups increases tolerance, which partly explains the greater level of tolerance in cities. On the other hand, the Conflict theory stands for the idea that the increased competition between different social groups may raise tension between these groups.
The name '50 Shades of Tolerance' was not a sudden whim, but instead, it has an important meaning, which I will reveal as a conclusive statement of the study. This conclusion is that despite the polarisation of the attitudes, the deeper study of the multiculturalism taught that behind those two clashes are 50 shades of different perceptions about reality. These shades of reality include people's ethical and moral base, values and attitudes added with different perceptions about multiculturalism, nation state and democracy. Hence, even though the polarisation of the attitudes is a very true image of reality, we should bear in mind that the apportionment is not maybe that fruitful.