Becoming a Citizen

Irene Bloemraad is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.

"Becoming a Citizen is a terrific book. Important, innovative, well argued, theoretically significant, and empirically grounded. It will be the definitive work in the field for years to come." - Frank D. Bean, Co-Director, Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy "This book is in three ways innovative. First, it avoids the domestic navel-gazing of US immigration studies, through an obvious yet ingenious comparison with Canada. Second, it shows that official multiculturalism and common citizenship may very well go together, revealing Canada, and not the United States, as leader in successful immigrant integration. Thirdly, the book provides a compelling picture of how the state matters in making immigrants citizens. An outstanding contribution to the migration and citizenship literature!" - Christian Joppke, American University of Paris"

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: The Challenge of Immigrant Political Incorporation 1. Diverging Trajectories of Political Incorporation 2. The Social Nature of Citizenship and Participation 3. Structured Mobilization: The Role of Government 4. The Meaning of Citizenship 5. Community Organizations and Political Mobilization 6. Learning to Lead and Winning Political Office Conclusion: Multicultural Citizenship Notes Appendix: Interviewees References Index