Diversity mainstreaming through intercultural opening in policy and practice

Müller, Carolin

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.31009/gritim.2023.wp53

Diversity mainstreaming through intercultural opening in policy and practice

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Müller, C. Diversity mainstreaming through intercultural opening in policy and practice. 2023. doi: 10.31009/gritim.2023.wp53

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Abstract

Diversity management gradually gains significance regarding recent migrations and growing hostility in Germany’s urban societies. In the state of Saxony, where right-wing extremism is on the rise, cultural and social policies and civil society initiatives have tried to use cultural and social education and participation (CSEP) to remedy unmanaged diversity and to reduce negative effects of discrimination against negatively racialized people. Zapata-Barrero (2017) speaks of the intercultural turn when diversity is seen as a resource, an advantage, and an opportunity for community cohesion and conflict mitigation. This article sheds light on the intercultural turn in CSEP in Saxony through a case study of the right-wing hotspot Dresden. A qualitative analysis of Dresden’s diversity management policies and 2017-22 ethnographic data identifies the premises, opportunities, and challenges: commitments to interculturality are cross-sectional; diversity projects increased; vertical forms of participation emerged, but also pointed to loopholes that leave migrants at a disadvantage.