City-level migration, integration and diversity policies in times of economic crisis in post-1970s Britain & Germany

Hackett, S (2015) City-level migration, integration and diversity policies in times of economic crisis in post-1970s Britain & Germany. In: Migrants in the City: New Dynamics of Migration in Urban Settings, 12-13 October 2015, Culter's Hall, Sheffield, UK.

Official URL: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/smi/research/events/mi...

Abstract

European cities are increasingly being recognised for the role they play in devising and implementing their own migration policies. City-level governments are at a historical juncture for governing local diversity in the context of the Global Economic Crisis, and new concepts of integration and urban development are being developed. Yet whilst recent and contemporary examples are often more familiar, the role played by cities in the migration process is certainly nothing new to the twenty-first century. This paper will examine the previously unexplored relationship between city-level migration, integration and diversity policies and economic crises in post-1970s Britain and Germany. It will uncover the extent to which the city-level migration policy negotiation process and the policies that were subsequently put into place have been shaped by either instances of economic crisis or downturn, or fears regarding potential economic crisis scenarios. Drawing upon the case studies of Newcastle upon Tyne and Bremen, it will reveal how both cities’ governments have long attempted to stimulate their post-industrial economies through South Asian and Turkish entrepreneurship and neighbourhood formation respectively. Despite Britain’s position as a unitary state and Germany’s as a federal one, it has often been at times of economic crisis that local authorities have drifted away from national mandate and that their policies have converged. This paper’s city-level focus comprises a new area of research within History, whilst its historical methodology constitutes a largely unexplored approach in the growing body of research on cities’ migration, integration and diversity policies, which has primarily been conducted by scholars in Anthropology, Ethnic Studies and Political Science. It will draw upon a range of research theories, concepts and frameworks, including those addressing the local dimension of migrant policies, experiences and integration; the multi-level governance of migration and integration policies; and the relationship between city-level migration policies and crisis. It will conclude by offering an assessment of how past experiences can inform current and future policy debates.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Divisions: School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Date Deposited: 16 Oct 2015 10:27
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:41
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/6734
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