Paradigmatic pragmatism and the politics of diversity

Abstract

How migration and mobilizations of difference are accommodated at the local level is a burning question. Concepts adopted by local governments and the capacities of cities to formulate and implement these have received increasing attention, but often without examining the ideas and norms that underlie local concepts and practices. This article assesses the hypothesis of local-level pragmatism, which it rejects, and develops the notion of 'paradigmatic pragmatism' to characterize how local-level politics address mobilizations of difference. Based on empirical findings from Amsterdam, Antwerp and Leeds, and comparing the content and the implementation of 'diversity policies', I argue against a dichotomy of pragmatic vs ideational politics. Instead, these cities draw on a variety of ideas and pragmatically combine them under the header of diversity. This paradigmatic pragmatism invites further research on the effects of potential incompatibilities of immigrant policy ideas.

Local responses in restrictive national policy contexts: welfare provisions for non-removed rejected asylum seekers in Amsterdam, Stockholm and Vienna

“…This is to say, cities act differently despite a certain focus in academic literature on inclusive cities. The potential of focussing on the local lies in challenging the "assumed monopoly" of the national level in migration policy (Schiller 2015(Schiller , 1122.…”

Enhanced local-level willingness and ability to settle refugees: Decentralization and local responses to the refugee crisis in Norway

“…Integration of immigrants takes place at the local level, although the local level interacts with regional, national and supranational levels in governance of migration (Caponio & Borkert, 2010;Penninx & Garcés-Mascareñas, 2016;Schiller, 2015). This was also the case in Norway during and after the 2015 refugee crisis.…”

Economy or Justice? How Urban Actors Respond to Diversity

“…Many scholars insist on the relevance and peculiarity of the local, or of cities, in the context of immigrant incorporation. Often, cities are assumed to be different because local authorities and local political actors are more pragmatic and, as a consequence, more accommodating in their dealings with immigrants than the more principled and ideological national level (Poppelaars and Scholten 2008, 348;Schiller 2015).…”