Getting Into Local Power: The Politics of Ethnic Minorities in British and French Cities

by Romain Garbaye

Overview

Romain Garbaye presents a comparison of the politics of ethnic minorities in British and French cities, with a focus on the election of city councillors in Birmingham, Lille and Roubaix between 1980 and 2001. It shows that, while the Labour-run Birmingham City Council has co-opted a significant number of councillors of African-Caribbean and Asian background, the population of North African origins in Lille has obtained little or no representation. Roubaix represents an intermediate case, with the number of ethnic minority councillors increasing through the 1990s.

The book considers styles of political mobilization of ethnic minorities in the context of urban political systems, as well as the strategies used by party leaders to manage ethnic diversity in political competition. It analyses how ethnic and cultural diversity in urban societies translates into conflictual politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781444355543
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	07/22/2011
Series:	IJURR Studies in Urban and Social Change Book Series , #62
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Romain Garbaye is Maître de Conférences at the Université Paris IV-Sorbonne. He obtained his DPhil in Politics at the University of Oxford, and he has held a Jean Monnet post-doctoral fellowship at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on the politics of ethnic minorities in European cities.

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Table of Contents

List of Maps.

Foreword by Patrick Weil.

Series Editors' Preface.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

1 Historical Instititionalism and the Comparison of Local Cases Strategies of Management of Ethnic Conflict and Historical Institutionalism.

2 The British Policy Framework: Liberal Citizenship Regime, Depoliticization and the Race-Relationism of British Cities.

3 The French Policy Framework: Planned Migration, Xenophobic Politics, and Durable Political Exclusion.

4 Birmingham: Inner-City Labour Politics and Pluri-Ethnic Government.

5 Lille: Machine Politics and Exclusion of Minorities in the French Municipal System.

6 Roubaix: Inclusion Through Neighbourhood Groups and an Open Municipal Game.

Conclusion.

Appendix: Interviews and Sources.

Bibliography.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This excellent book is a substantial contribution to the field bringing together the urban politics and race policy literatures in a fascinating comparative study. It is an interesting story, well told, and highly instructive for policy-makers and academics alike."
Peter John, University of Manchester

"This study is important to our understanding of immigrants as political actors, and how national and local political systems shape their access and participation."
Martin Schain, New York University

"A very welcome addition to the literature on ethnic minority politics. Recommended reading for anyone … interested in ethnic minority political participation. Provides useful insights into the practice and operation of local politics in two very different political systems and as such should be recommended reading for anyone with an interest in local and urban politics in France and Britain."
Dr Alistair Clark, University of Birmingham, Local Government Studies

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent book is a substantial contribution to the field bringing together the urban politics and race policy literatures in a fascinating comparative study. It is an interesting story, well told, and highly instructive for policy-makers and academics alike."
Peter John, University of Manchester

"This study is important to our understanding of immigrants as political actors, and how national and local political systems shape their access and participation."
Martin Schain, New York University

"A very welcome addition to the literature on ethnic minority politics. Recommended reading for anyone … interested in ethnic minority political participation. Provides useful insights into the practice and operation of local politics in two very different political systems and as such should be recommended reading for anyone with an interest in local and urban politics in France and Britain."
Dr Alistair Clark, University of Birmingham, Local Government Studies

From the Publisher