Search results

1

Immigration Policy Debates and their Significance for Multiculturalism in Britain

100%

Fomina J.

Polish Sociological Review

|

2010

|

vol. 169

|

issue 1

57-86

EN

Much attention has been paid to British multiculturalism as a good policy response to cultural diversity. However, multiculturalist policies did not develop in a vacuum, and so their formulation and development and ambiguities that accompany them cannot be understood without an excursion into history of decolonisation and immigration policy in Britain. The aim of this article is to provide such a historical background. I will focus on four debates related to immigration: the passage from an empire to a nation state; citizenship and belonging; racialisation of the immigration debate; and the impact of EU integration. Britain’s farewell to its empire was never a single, decided move, but rather a gradual, often unwelcome process. For decades the issues of citizenship and belonging were unresolved, as a result, a coherent and fair immigration policy could not be formulated. The fact that political, economic and social rights were bound to subjecthood and not to national citizenship put the Commonwealth immigrants in a special position. On the one hand, it empowered them, in comparison to immigrants in other countries, Commonwealth immigrants were already granted these rights, at least formally, and the struggle for equality was focused on the execution of already existing rights. Despite the fact that all Commonwealth citizens had an equal status, not all of them were equally desired as immigrants. The debates on immigration became de facto debates on whether Britain had to be a land of white people only or it not. As a consequence, the main challenge of immigrant incorporation became understood as establishing good “race relations.” Euroscepticism and self-righteousness in the area of immigrant incorporation have mutually reinforced themselves in Britain. The academia helped to create a specific language to frame the discussions and policy solutions, making the British approach even more idiosyncratic, different from other modes of incorporation of immigrants. At the same time, this sense of being different does not prevent British politicians, policy-makers, activists and scientists from promoting the British multiculturalist approach as “the best practice” in managing diversity.

2

The Unlikely Eurosceptics: the Undercurrent Anti-European Attitudes among the Young Poles and the Role of the Domestic Context

100%

Fomina J.

Polish Sociological Review

|

2017

|

vol. 198

|

issue 2

141-166

EN

The first generation of Poles whose political horizons have been limited by their country’s membership in the EU by a popular assumption should also be the most pro-European section of the society. However, empirical evidence demonstrates that despite the broad support for Poland’s membership that we see on the surface, young people’s perceptions of the EU are characterised by undercurrent euroscepticism. This undercurrent euroscepticism is less about a pragmatic assessment of benefits and losses, and more about concerns about emotive-symbolic issues, such as authority, self-determination, sovereignty, national identity and values. While the benefits of the EU membership are often taken for granted, the concerns about sovereignty understood in an old-fashioned way are brought to the fore in young people’s perceptions of the EU. The article focuses on the role of the domestic political context and how the real and perceived generation gap plays into it. The paper calls for comprehensive education about European integration and critical thinking and media consumption literacy in order to diminish the susceptibility of young people to anti-European cues by political entrepreneurs.

3

The Failure of British Multiculturalism: Lessons for Europe

100%

Fomina J.

Polish Sociological Review

|

2006

|

vol. 156

|

issue 4

409-424

EN

This paper acknowledges the need for greater convergence of immigrant and ethnic minorities integration policies in Europe and critically examines the general conviction that Great Britain is the source of best practice in this policy area. The articles’ main thesis is that contrary to the commonly held view, Multiculturalism as an integration policy is not effective and adequate. This claim is supported by the three groups of arguments. First of all, Multiculturalist policies have led to ghettoisation of the society and ethnically-driven conflicts instead of integration. Moreover, such policies often violate basic principles of democracy and equality as well as abuse individual human rights in the name of the rights of cultural groups. Finally, multiculturalist approach is inadequate especially at the times of “super-diversity,” in other words, unprecedented inter- and intra-group diversification. In conclusion principles for the future common EU integration policy that can be derived from the British experience are suggested.

4

Book Review: Anne Phillips, Multiculturalism without Culture.

75%

Fomina J.

Polish Sociological Review

|

2010

|

vol. 169

|

issue 1

123-126

Refine search results

4 Polish Sociological Review

4 Fomina J.

1 2017

2 2010

1 2006

Immigration Policy Debates and their Significance for Multiculturalism in Britain

The Unlikely Eurosceptics: the Undercurrent Anti-European Attitudes among the Young Poles and the Role of the Domestic Context

The Failure of British Multiculturalism: Lessons for Europe

Book Review: Anne Phillips, Multiculturalism without Culture.