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Abstract
Rising rates of migration, and the diversification of flows, have made Western societies increasingly heterogeneous. Yet, the same societies are simultaneously witnessing a resurgence of nationalism and anti-immigration attitudes. This thesis explores how migrants and political actors navigate this tension, and its implications for political participation and representation, with an empirical focus on Switzerland. The first article advances a multidimensional conceptualization of exclusion perceptions to assess their impact on the decisions to vote of Kosovar-, Italian- and German-Swiss dual citizens in residence and origin countries elections. The second article explores how members of the Kosovo-Albanian diaspora in Switzerland make sense of exclusionary experiences in different ways, demonstrating that different understandings of exclusion are associated with different reasons, modes, and degrees of political engagement in residence and origin countries. The third article focuses on Swiss parties’ decisions to nominate immigrant-background candidates in electoral lists. The analysis reveals that once the interplay of ideological and strategic considerations is accounted for, patterns of inclusion inconsistent with a linear understanding of the effects of ideology emerge. Altogether, through a mixed- methods approach, this thesis deepens our understanding of how exclusion affects migrants’ political inclusion, demonstrating that expanding current academic perspectives can unveil unexpected patterns of political engagement.