Introduction

Superdiversity challenges traditional modes of governance regarding migration-related diversity. It refers to multidimensional shifts in migration patterns (Vertovec, 2007; Meissner and Vertovec, 2015) that challenge policies directed at specific migrant ‘groups’ that would oversimplify the diversity within and between migrant groups and society. The increasing complexity that superdiversity refers to and the inadvertent effects of policy targeting were core elements of the so-called multiculturalism backlash in many European countries (Vertovec and Wessendorf, 2010). Furthermore, the deepening of diversity that is associated with superdiversity would complicate any policy oriented at the ‘assimilation’ of newcomers into the host society, as this host society itself is being transformed in response to migration as well (Crul, 2016). Although various studies have shown that superdiversity demands a rethinking of governance responses and government policies (Vertovec, 2007; Crul, 2016; Phillimore, 2015), little is known about what form or forms of governance and policy would best fit situations of superdiversity.

This chapter examines whether, and if so, how and why, governance mainstreaming forms a suitable policy response to situations of superdiversity. The concept of governance refers to problem-solving strategies that are developed and implemented in complex networks of actors (Teisman et al, 2009), including but certainly not limited to government institutions and government policies (Colebatch, 2009; Wimmer and Schiller, 2003). The concept of governance mainstreaming has been developed more broadly in other areas such as gender, disability and environmental governance (Dalal-Clayton and Bass, 2009; Nunan et al, 2012; Priestley and Roulstone, 2009, 4–5; Verloo, 2005; Walby 2005). Building from this literature we define mainstreaming of migration-related diversity as the effort to embed diversity in a generic approach across policy areas as well as policy levels, to establish a whole-society approach to diversity rather than an approach to specific migrant groups, in complex actor networks.

In this chapter, we analyse patterns in the policy approaches to immigrant integration in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France from the conceptual lens of governance mainstreaming, and analyse how and why mainstreaming was developed as a governance strategy, and what role superdiversity played in the rationale for and the choice of strategy towards mainstreaming.