Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2025, 61(1): 43-63 | DOI: 10.13060/csr.2024.025

Mutual Support, Role Models and Trust: The Role of Ethnic Associations in Building the Capacity of Second-Generation Vietnamese

Tomáš Knor ORCID..., Tereza Freidingerová ORCID...
Fakulta sociálních věd, Univerzita Karlova, Praha

In this article, we examine the collective response to the challenges second-generation Vietnamese in the Czech Republic face. Second-generation migrants are generally expected to integrate easily. In the case of the Vietnamese, this assumption is reinforced by the stereotype of them as a model minority that adapts smoothly and achieves intergenerational upward social mobility. However, we argue that the life trajectories of second-generation Vietnamese are not so straightforward. On the contrary, they have to overcome various obstacles stemming from their hybrid identity and external and intra-group pressures. As a result, they experience various personal crises. Second-generation Vietnamese feel the need to take an institutional approach to addressing disadvantages by turning to ethnic associations. Based on qualitative research conducted in two Vietnamese youth associations, we shed light on the functioning and mechanisms of these associations. We conclude that the second generation establishes these associations as a conscious strategy for mitigating the effects of disadvantages stemming from their migrant background and uses them to collectively strive to increase resilience to external and intra-group pressures through mutual support and capacity building for individuals and the group as a whole. However, their goal is not to break free from the trajectory framed by the idea of a model minority, but rather to create space for alternative pathways to fulfilling the vision of a successful Vietnamese that reflect personal preferences.

Keywords: second-generation Vietnamese, ethnic associations, capacity building, personal crisis, model minority

Received: November 30, 2023; Revised: July 18, 2024; Accepted: July 19, 2024; Prepublished online: July 19, 2024; Published: March 19, 2025  Show citation

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Knor, T., & Freidingerová, T. (2025). Mutual Support, Role Models and Trust: The Role of Ethnic Associations in Building the Capacity of Second-Generation Vietnamese. Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 61(1), 43-63. doi: 10.13060/csr.2024.025
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