“Non più cose ma protagonisti”. L’associazionismo tra gli emigrati italiani in Belgio e Svizzera, 1945-­‐2001. Il caso di Bruxelles e Ginevra

This research presents an historical comparative analysis (1945-2001) of Italian migrants’ associations in two Europe’s country: Belgium and Geneva. The research compares the associative practices of Italians in Brussels and Geneva, it focuses on the importance of immigrant organisations. Such organisations are not only important for the immigrants themselves, but also for their participation and integration into the host society. Immigrants set up organisations to create, express and maintain a collective identity. Using examples from specific types of organisation (mutual benefit societies, religious groups, hometown associations, political groups, cultural associations) we examine the factors that shape immigrants’ formal sociability. We can thus see what differences were made important by whom, for whom, and for how long. The information gathered in this way can only be assessed if we know what factors influence the founding and continuation of organisations, and how this influence works. The study focus on how and why immigrant organisations originate, and how they manage to survive and change over time. The study demonstrates the strength of ethnically based organizations to be an especially powerful determinant of the likelihood of ethnic collective action. The essay approaches the topic from a historical perspective to show how quasi-universal processes on the one hand, and local and temporal specificities on the other, shaped associational practices in a way that transcended the ethno-national traditions and characteristics of particular immigrant groups and host countries.