European Cities, Municipal Organizations and Diversity

By: Maria Schiller

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Synopsis: This book challengesthe prevailing view that local authorities are irrelevant in immigrationpolicy-making. Presenting an in-depth ethnographic study of the recentimplementation of local 'diversity policies' in the Netherlands, Belgium andUnited Kingdom, it identifies a new politics of difference, characterized by a'paradigmatic pragmatism'. Building on extensive fieldwork in Amsterdam,Antwerp and Leeds, the author shows that, rather than simply replacing anearlier politics of difference, local diversity policies combine ideals ofmulticulturalism, assimilation and diversity. She links these findings to theongoing modernization and diversification of municipal authorities, and theimpact of this transformation on the profile of the bureaucrats and theirimplementation of diversity policies. This thought-provoking work will appealto students, researchers and practitioners engaged in the fields ofimmigration, diversity and multiculturalism.