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In what ways do local authorities respond to the increasing socio-cultural heterogeneity of urban populations? While other studies have often focused on policy declarations, the eight chapters in this book provide rich evidence on the content and implementation of local policies. Furthermore, several chapters offer theoretical insights into the factors driving or hindering policies that acknowledge socio-cultural heterogeneity and ensure more equality and inclusive public services.
The general focus of the book is on cities in France and Germany, that is, two major immigration countries in Europe - countries in which local authorities have a relatively strong position within the state structure. The contributions analyze how local actors use their powers to ensure more equal public employment, adapt cultural offers and recreational facilities to the demands of a diverse population, and/or to fight discrimination. Further chapters investigate who takes part in formulating policies and seek to explain why cities take different decisions about strategies and practices. As a whole, the book contributes to the comparative study of societal diversity and local politics in France and Germany, and will be of interest to academics, researchers, and advanced students of Sociology, Public Policy, Law, and Political Science.
This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.
List of contents
Introduction: Diversity in local political practice
Karen Schönwälder
1. Colour-blind diversity: how the "Diversity Label" reshaped anti-discrimination policies in three French local governments
Laure Bereni, Renaud Epstein and Manon Torres
2. Workforce diversity policies in practice: drivers and barriers in local administrations
Christine Lang
3. The local turn in integration policies: why French cities differ
Anouk Flamant
4. What explains diversity-policy adoption? Policy entrepreneurs and advocacy coalitions in two French cities
Michalis Moutselos
5. Externalization or imitation: the 2015-16 asylum-seeker immigration as a catalyst for local structural change
Miriam Schader
6. A relational approach to local immigrant policy-making: collaboration with immigrant advocacy bodies in French and German cities
Maria Schiller, Julia Martínez-Ariño and Mireia Bolíbar
7. Cultural policies mixing commonality and difference? The case of public libraries in French cities
Alexandre Tandé
8. The accommodation of Muslim body practices in German public swimming pools
Ines Michalowski and Max Behrendt
Summary
This book book contributes to the comparative study of societal diversity and local politics in France and Germany, and will be of interest to academics, researchers and advanced students of Sociology, Public Policy, Law, and Political Science.
