Abstract
This chapter explains why and how public authorities and bureaucrats play a role in governing local mobilizations of difference. It demonstrates how trends of modernization and diversification have redefined the profile of local bureaucrats, who are today subject to expectations of entrepreneurialism and authenticity. These new expectations reshape the profile of the public official, which we find reflected in recruitment strategies as well as in their diverse self-representations.
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Notes
- 1.
I use here ‘migrant origin’ in the sense of at least one parent being born abroad.
- 2.
Individual officers were not necessarily expected to score on all different possible competencies, but such competencies should be represented in the team, with each team member bringing different competencies to the table. Rather than defining an unchanging profile for the diversity officer, the goal was to create a powerful ‘diversity department’ as a collective entity. The diversity of the team and the sum of the different team members’ capabilities was seen by several diversity officers as providing strength in itself. Therefore, not each individual team member was necessarily required to have different competencies.
- 3.
Knowing and following the basic governmental procedures was a skill many officers referred to as essential for their jobs. These officials considered it as important to be sensitive to political needs when directly working with politicians. They emphasized the need to be able to cooperate and be assertive, and to formulate and communicate policy advice. In interactions with civil society, it would be vital to be a good relationship-builder and able to facilitate knowledge-sharing, linking people, and monitoring processes. Being able to develop expertise in the area within which one worked or, alternately, as the job often involved on-the-job learning, to have some gut instinct, was important to officers.
- 4.
Indeed, Saleem had a role as an internal reminder of the disadvantaged position of immigrant communities in team discussions. He voiced his frustration with me about the lack of attention of some of his colleagues to this fact.
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Schiller, M. (2016). The Changing Nature of Public Authorities and Bureaucrats. In: European Cities, Municipal Organizations and Diversity. Global Diversities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52185-9_3
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