The question of immigration is a perennial hot topic in politics around the world. What gets far less attention is what happens to immigrants after their arrival--how they integrate into their newly chosen societies. This book draws on fieldwork in London and eastern England, analyzing and critiquing the effectiveness of recent policies that aim to promote integration and social cohesion. Successful management of immigration, Jill Rutter argues, requires a greater emphasis on the social aspects of integration and opportunities for meaningful social interactions between migrants and long-settled residents, particularly in workplaces.
Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion and Immigration brings together original research that addresses key facets of the changing dynamics of race, multiculturalism and immigration in contemporary British society. The various chapters in this volume tackle important social and political issues such as ethnic diversity and segregation, post-race politics, contact and threat hypotheses, national identity, anti-racist mobilisation and whiteness. It provides an important insight into the dynamics of contemporary British society. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Based on a flagship research project for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Immigration and Inclusion programme, this book argues that social cohesion is achieved through people (new arrivals as well as the long-term settled) being able to resolve the conflicts and tensions within their day-to-day lives in ways that they find positive and viable.
Concerns about immigration and the rising visibility of minorities have triggered a lively scholarly debate on the consequences of ethnic diversity for trust, cooperation, and other aspects of social cohesion. In this accessibly written volume, leading scholars explore where, when, and why ethnic diversity affects social cohesion by way of analyses covering the major European immigration countries, as well as the United States and Canada. They explore the merits of competing theoretical accounts and give rare insights into the underlying mechanisms through which diversity affects social cohesion. The volume offers a nuanced picture of the topic by explicitly exploring the conditions under which ethnic diversity affects the ‘glue’ that holds societies together. With its interdisciplinary perspective and contributions by sociologists, political scientists, social psychologists, as well as economists, the book offers the most comprehensive analysis of the link between ethnic diversity and social cohesion that is currently available.
Superdiversity explores processes of diversification and the complex, emergent social configurations that now supersede prior forms of diversity in societies around the world. Migration plays a key role in these processes, bringing changes not just in social, cultural, religious, and linguistic phenomena, but also in the ways that these phenomena combine with others like gender, age, and legal status. The concept of superdiversity has been adopted by scholars across the social sciences in order to address a variety of forms, modes, and outcomes of diversification. Central to this field is the relationship between social categorization and social organization, including stratification and inequality. Increasingly complex categories of social “difference” have significant impacts across scales, from entire societies to individual identities. While diversification is often met with simplifying stereotypes, threat narratives, and expressions of antagonism, superdiversity encourages a perspective on difference as comprising multiple social processes, flexible collective meanings, and overlapping personal and group identities. A superdiversity approach encourages the re-evaluation and recognition of social categories as multidimensional, unfixed, and porous as opposed to views based on hardened, one-dimensional thinking about groups. Diversification and increasing social complexity are bound to continue, if not intensify, in light of climate change. This will have profound impacts on the nature of global migration, social relations, and inequalities. Superdiversity presents a convincing case for recognizing new social formations created by changing migration patterns and calls for a re-thinking of public policy and social scientific approaches to social difference. This introduction to the multidisciplinary concept of superdiversity will be of considerable interest to students and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
This book makes a major contribution to the community cohesion literature and adds a new dimension to our understanding of community cohesion in the UK. Previous research in this area has remained overly focused on the experiences of low/semi skilled migrants. The author provides an analysis of her funded empirical research that investigated the first time the integration experiences of overseas-trained South Asian doctors in three different UK geographical locales. She reflects on their experiences from the point of migration to settlement in the UK society and describes this elite group as existing somewhere between privilege and marginalisation. The book highlights how identities are more plural than discourses of belonging often allow. “In this excellent work of scholarship, Farooq provides us with a rich and insightful account of the experiences of a remarkably important migrant group – South Asian doctors who came to Britain to work in the NHS. This rich and multifaceted work provides a vital and engaging account of this remarkable group. Essential reading for anyone interested in the role of migrant workers in the NHS, and in the experiences and challenges faced by migrants settling to Britain during the 1960s and 1970s.” – Robert Ford, Professor of Political Science, University of Manchester, UK “Dr Farooq’s research into the lives and contributions of South Asian doctors working in NHS GP practices in the North of England is insightful as well as timely. Her work examines the complex intersections between class, race and migration. The analysis are supplemented with some wonderful quotes by the doctors on how they responded to their migration journeys, and adapted to their local communities and the changing demands of working within the NHS. The research provides a unique insight into the experiences of different generations of South Asian GPs who contributed so much to our local communities. – Tarani Chandola, Professor of Medical Sociology, University of Manchester, UK “Often seen as a uniquely British institution, the NHS is really an international institution where international medical graduates, international nurses and migrant labour have contributed to it its values, its identity and its purpose. Yasmin Farooq, together with her contemporary Julian Simpson who both worked with me to document this history will ensure that future historians will acknowledge and recognise the hidden contribution of these architects and pioneers to British Society and the International NHS.” – Aneez Esmail, Professor of General Practice, University of Manchester, UK . Contents Foreword by Aneez Esmail Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: The Context of Migration Chapter 2: Navigating the UK Medical System upon Arrival Chapter 3: Understanding Entrepreneurship within the General Practice Chapter 4: Integration and Sense of Belonging Chapter 5: Experiences of Racism and Coping Strategies Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusions
Greater mobility and migration have brought about unprecedented levels of diversity that are transforming communities across the Atlantic in fundamental ways, sparking uncertainty over who the "we" is in a society. As publics fear loss of their national identity and values, the need is greater than ever to reinforce the bonds that tie communities together. Yet, while a consensus may be emerging as to what has not worked well, little thought has been given to developing a new organizing principle for community cohesion. Such a vision needs to smooth divisions between immigration's "winners and losers," blunt extremism, and respond smartly to changing community and national identities. This volume will examine the lessons that can be drawn from various approaches to immigrant integration and managing diversity in North America and Europe. The book delivers recommendations on what policymakers must do to build and reinforce inclusiveness given the realities on each side of the Atlantic. It offers insights into the next generation of policies that can (re)build inclusive societies and bring immigrants and natives together in pursuit of shared futures.
This work examines the common assumption that immigrants contribute to the breakdown of social cohesion. In fact, research shows that immigrants contribute much to to their adopted societies economically, socially, culturally and politically. A numberof key works are referenced.
It was only a coincidence that the NHS and the Empire Windrush (a ship carrying 492 migrants from Britain's West Indian colonies) arrived together. On 22 June 1948, as the ship's passengers disembarked, frantic preparations were already underway for 5 July, the Appointed Day when the nation's new National Health Service would first open its doors. The relationship between immigration and the NHS rapidly attained - and has enduringly retained - notable political and cultural significance. Both the Appointed Day and the post-war arrival of colonial and Commonwealth immigrants heralded transformative change. Together, they reshaped daily life in Britain and notions of 'Britishness' alike. Yet the reciprocal impacts of post-war immigration and medicine in post-war Britain have yet to be explored. Contagious Communities casts new light on a period which is beginning to attract significant historical interest. Roberta Bivins draws attention to the importance - but also the limitations - of medical knowledge, approaches, and professionals in mediating post-war British responses to race, ethnicity, and the emergence of new and distinctive ethnic communities. By presenting a wealth of newly available or previously ignored archival evidence, she interrogates and re-balances the political history of Britain's response to New Commonwealth immigration. Contagious Communities uses a set of linked case-studies to map the persistence of 'race' in British culture and medicine alike; the limits of belonging in a multi-ethnic welfare state; and the emergence of new and resolutely 'unimagined' communities of patients, researchers, clinicians, policy-makers, and citizens within the medical state and its global contact zones.
