The Theory and Practice of Immigration and ‘Race-Relations’ Policy: Some Thoughts on British and French Experience

Abstract

Immigration has in recent years acquired unusual prominence in European political debate, fuelled by fears about a rising tide of asylum-seekers and demographic disparities North and South of the Mediterranean. One important strand is the perception that a process of ‘integration’, which worked reasonably well in the past, has got stuck. It is frequently assumed that the problem is due to something specific about recent migrants; more plausibly, fear of immigration may be seen as a symptom of a wider social malaise. Whichever view one subscribes to, however, the failure of integration is undoubtedly associated with severe problems of discrimination, racism and unequal opportunities for both immigrants and European-born minority groups, and suggests that Europe may now be incapable of absorbing migrants within a genuinely democratic framework.