Parallel society
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Parallel society is a self-organization of an ethnic or religious minority, often but not always immigrant groups, with the intent of a reduced or minimal spatial, social and cultural contact with the majority society into which they immigrate.[1]
The term was introduced into the debate about migration and integration in the early 1990s by the German sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer.[2] It rose to prominence in the European public discourse following the murder of Dutch director and critic of Islam Theo van Gogh.[citation needed] In 2004, the Association for the German Language ranked the term second in their Word of the year list.[3] Since 2021, Denmark has used the term to define social housing estates where at least half the residents are from "non-Western" countries, as well as other factors such as high crime and unemployment rates.[4]
See also
[edit]- Parallel state
- Pillarisation
- Multiculturalism
- Leitkultur
- Auto-segregation
- Ghetto
- Ethnic enclave
- Dhimmi
- Parallel Polis, the deliberate creation of a parallel society to overcome oppressive systems
- Sensitive urban zone (France)
- Vulnerable residential area (Denmark)
- Vulnerable area (Sweden)
References
[edit]- ↑ Parallelgesellschaften?, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, No. 1–2 (2006)
- ↑ Integration, Social Networks and Economic Success of Immigrants: A Case Study of the Turkish Community in Berlin
- ↑ Wort des Jahres (expand "Wörter des Jahres 2004")
- ↑ Coe, Joshua (April 7, 2025). "As Denmark tears down homes in 'non-Western' areas to force assimilation, residents fight back in court". The World (radio show)]. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
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