Diversity, Integration and Inclusion: Actors, Policies and Practices

International migration is making societies more diverse, both in countries of long-standing immigration and in those that have only recently become destinations. Resident populations differ in countries of origin, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds, migration trajectories and, crucially, legal statuses, which shape access to rights, services and political voice. How states, societies and other actors respond to this diversity is one of the defining political questions of our time and bears directly on the quality and inclusiveness of democratic governance.
This panel examines the governance of diversity, integration, inclusion and participation, understood broadly. Responses range from policies explicitly targeting particular migrant groups, through the mainstreaming of migration-related concerns into general social, education, labour market and urban policies, to bottom-up initiatives, and in many contexts to indifference, retrenchment or exclusion. Efforts may be designed 'for' migrants, 'with' migrants or 'by' migrants, with very different implications for legitimacy and effectiveness. Institutional context matters: unitary and highly centralised systems differ from federal and decentralised ones, where competences are exercised with considerable autonomy at lower territorial levels, and welfare and citizenship regimes shape what is possible.
We invite papers on, among others: competing conceptualisations of integration, inclusion, cohesion, belonging and participation and their normative assumptions; who defines these terms and on whose terms; the political and civic participation and representation of migrants and their descendants; access to rights, services and the labour market; discrimination, racism and their contestation; public discourse, media and the politics of diversity; the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies; and the roles of public, societal and private actors at national and sub-national levels.
We encourage authors to draw on the experience of countries whose migration histories and governance approaches differ widely and which may nonetheless learn from one another. Theoretical, methodological and empirical papers, single-case and comparative studies, and contributions from all world regions and career stages are equally welcome.