Immigrant Incorporation in Political Parties
Exploring the diversity gap
Ethnic and Racial Studies Series

This book seeks to explore the potentialities of strengthening a new field of research within migration and diversity studies, that of immigrant incorporation in political parties. The point of departure of all the contributions to this volume is that there is what we call a ?diversity gap? between political parties as public representative organisations and diversity dynamics in democratic societies. Exploring the current strategies of political parties developing first conceptual frameworks, theoretical foundations and empirical hypothesis and approaches, this book examines case studies from four European countries: Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Introduction: Background, framework and focus of the special issue1. How do political parties deal with the "diversity gap"? Democratic deficits and party strategies2. Immigrants’ political claims in Portugal: confronting the political opportunity structure with perceptions and discourses3. Contested discourses on diversity and practices of diversity incorporation in political parties in Germany4. From participation to confinement: challenges for immigrants’ incorporation in political parties in Spain5. Exploring the reasons for migrant under-representation in Irish electoral politics: the role of Irish political parties

Ricard Zapata-Barrero is Professor in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. His main research deals with contemporary issues of diversity in liberal democracy, especially the relationship between democracy, citizenship, human mobility and immigration. He is a member of the Board of Directors of IMISCOE, the largest research network on Immigration in Europe.

Iris Dähnke is a member of the scientific staff of the Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands, based in Hamburg, Germany. Within this role, she is responsible for the scientific management and implementation of numerous transnational projects on topics surrounding both migration and integration. She is an M.A. graduate of Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK.

Lea Markard is a member of the scientific staff of the Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands, based in Hamburg, Germany. Her academic focus is on migration, gender, and antidiscrimination. She has studied at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, the Universität Potsdam, Germany, and Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA.