Governing diversity

During the 2000s, the European Union has witnessed a significant change in
terms of integration policies for immigrants.

This book intends to address the relationship between, on the one hand,
cultural diversity resulting from migration, and, on the other hand, social
cohesion and social justice within Western societies. In order to do this, the
authors examine what can be described as two contradictory trends in recent
public policies towards foreign people or people with a foreign origin.

A book that aims to provide a trans-disciplinary analysis of the construction
of “otherness” in North America and Europe.

EXTRAIT

In October 2010, in a very polemic context on immigration and immigrant
integration, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced that Germany was
to be considered a multicultural failure, words that were soon echoed by the
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme. A few months later, the British Prime
Minister David Cameron and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the
failure of multiculturalism in almost identical terms. These sensational
statements, which by and large avoid defining the concept of multiculturalism,
are based on a reaffirmation of “Western values” and strengthening of national
identity. These statements express the need to review the policies on
integration of immigrants, in the sense that they should be more active and
voluntarist, more organized by the state and more supported by the EU. In the
background, one can see fear for Islamic extremism, but also the idea that the
nation states can put some obligations on immigrants, and that for a too long
time we have been focusing on “those who arrive”, rather than on “the society
that welcomes them”. These speeches are situated in a politico-legal context
that in recent years was characterized by an ambivalent attitude towards
diversity in Europe. On the one hand, we have seen accusations of racial,
ethnic and religious discrimination, based on antidiscrimination legislation
boosted by a strong European equality legal framework. On the other hand, we
have seen denouncements of the perceived risk posed by Islam in Europe. These
policy statements are also a result of numerous publications, often widely
discussed in the media that outline the dangers of Islam in Europe (especially
in the Netherlands). These political positions have also led to political
decisions demonstrating the lack of legitimacy of Islam in Europe, such as the
ban on building minarets in Switzerland or the Burqa bans adopted in the name
of protecting national values and the “living together”, notably in France and
Belgium (2011).