Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-18T09:10:18.573Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Struggles for Institutional Space in France and the United Kingdom: Intersectionality and the Politics of Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2010

Leah Bassel
Affiliation:
City University London
Akwugo Emejulu
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh

Abstract

This article uses intersectionality as an analytical tool to explore struggles for institutional space in policy processes in two ostensibly contrasting contexts: “republican” France and the “multicultural” United Kingdom. Specifically, the article undertakes within-case analysis of three policy processes. In France, we discuss the debate over laïcité, or secularism, the subsequent formulation of the March 2004 law banning the wearing of religious signs in state schools, and the creation of the High Authority for the Fight Against Discrimination (HALDE). In the UK, we examine the problem definitions, language, and subject positions constructed by the 2008 Single Equality Bill. The result of these analyses is that institutional actors employ similar (though not identical) practices in relation to intersections, which have similar outcomes for minority groups on either side of the English Channel. Through what we term a “logic of separation,” institutional actors severely curtail the “institutional space” available to minority ethnic groups to make complex and intersectional social justice claims. Even though France and the UK are often portrayed as opposites with regard to constructions of citizenship, we argue that these seemingly differing traditions of citizenship end up having a similar effect of misrecognizing minority women and men's experiences and demands.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Amara, Fadela, and Zappi, Sylvia. 2003. Ni putes, ni soumises. Paris: La Découverte.Google Scholar
Assemblée nationale, . 2004. “Loi no. 2004-228 encadrant, en application du principe de laïcité, le port de signes ou de tenues manifestant une appartenance religieuse dans les écoles, collèges et lycées publics. 15 March 2004.” http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/recueil-lois/2004/recueil-1-21.asp (Accessed October 15, 2009).Google Scholar
Assemblée nationale, . 2010. Rapport d'information fait en application de l'article 145 du Règlement au nom de la Mission d'Information sur la pratique du port du voile intégral sur le territoire national. Available at http://q.liberation.fr/pdf/20100126/20918_le-rapport-sur-le-voile-integral.pdf (Accessed February 1, 2010).Google Scholar
Bagilhole, Barbara. 2002. “Divide and Be Ruled? Multiple Discrimination and the Concept of Social Exclusion.” In The Changing Politics of Gender Equality in Britain, ed. Breitenbach, Esther, Brown, Alice, Mackay, Fiona, and Webb, Janette. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 7082.Google Scholar
Bagilhole, Barbara. 2009. Understanding Equal Opportunities and Diversity: The Social Differentiations and Intersections of Inequality. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bassel, Leah. 2007. “Refugee Women and La République: Participation in the French Public Sphere.” Parliamentary Affairs 60 (30): 467–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellil, Samira. 2002. Dans l'Enfer des Tournantes. Paris: Denoël.Google Scholar
Bertossi, Christophe. 2007. “French and British Models of Integration: Public Philosophies, Policies and State Institutions.” COMPAS Working Paper 46. http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/pdfs/WP0746-Bertossi.pdf (Accessed October 10, 2009).Google Scholar
Bouzar, Dounia, and Kada, Saida. 2003. L'une voilée, l'autre pas. Le témoignage de deux musulmanes françaises. Paris: Albin Michel.Google Scholar
Commission de réflexion sur l'application du principe de laïcité dans la République. 2003. Rapport au Président de la République. Paris, 178. Available at http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapportspublics/034000725/index.shtml.Google Scholar
Costa-Lascoux, Jacqueline. 1989. De l'immigré au citoyen. Paris: La Documentation Française.Google Scholar
Costa-Lascoux, Jacqueline. 1999. “L'intégration à la française: une philosophie, des lois.” In Immigration et intégration: l'état des savoirs, ed. Dewitte, Philippe. Paris: La Découverte, 328–40.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, Kimblerlé. 1991. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence Against Women of Color.” In The Public Nature of Private Violence, ed. Fineman, Martha Albertson and Mykitiuk, Rixanne. New York: Routledge, 93118.Google Scholar
Emejulu, Akwugo. 2008. “The Intersection of Ethnicity, Poverty and Wealth.” In Understanding Inequality, Poverty and Wealth, ed. Ridge, Tess and Wright, Sharon. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.Google Scholar
EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission). 2010. “What Forms Does Racial Discrimination Take?” http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/race/what-is-race-discrimination/what-forms-does-racial-discrimination-take/ (Accessed February 5, 2010).Google Scholar
European Commission. N.d. European Law: Antidiscrimination Directives. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=612 (Accessed March 12, 2010).Google Scholar
Favell, Adrian. 2001. Philosophies of Integration: Immigration and the Idea of Citizenship in France and Britain. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, Gary. 2004. “Immigrant Incorporation in Western Democracies.” International Migration Review 38 (3): 945–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goulbourne, Harry. 1991. “Varieties of Pluralism: The Notion of a Pluralist, Post-Imperial Britain.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 17 (2): 211–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government Equalities Office. 2008. Framework for a Fairer Future—The Equality Bill. London: HMSO. http://www.equalities.gov.uk/PDF/FrameworkforaFairerFuture.pdf (Accessed September 14, 2008).Google Scholar
Government Equalities Office. 2009a. Equality Bill: Equality Impact Assessment. http://www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/807_Equality%20Bill_EqualityImpactAssessment.pdf (Accessed January 10, 2010).Google Scholar
Government Equalities Office. 2009b. Equality Bill: Assessing the Impact of a Multiple Discrimination Provision. A Discussion Document. London: HMSO. http://www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/090422%20Multiple%20Discrimination%20Discussion%20Document%20Final%20Text.pdf (Accessed May 11, 2009).Google Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie. 2007a. “When Multiplication Doesn't Equal Quick Addition: Examining Intersectionality as a Research Paradigm.” Perspectives on Politics 5 (1): 6379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie. 2007b. “Intersectionality as a Normative and Empirical Paradigm.” Politics & Gender 3 (June): 248–54.Google Scholar
Hansen, Randall. 2000. “British Citizenship after Empire: A Defense.” Political Quarterly 71 (1): 396403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill Collins, Patricia. 1990. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Honig, Bonnie. 1993. Political Theory and the Displacement of Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Jordan-Zachery, Julia. 2007. “Am I a Black Woman or a Woman Who Is Black? A Few Thoughts on the Meaning of Intersectionality.” Politics & Gender 3 (June): 254–63.Google Scholar
Kenway, Peter, and Palmer, Guy. 2007. Poverty Among Ethnic Groups: How and Why Does It Differ? York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Kymlicka, Will. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Levinson, Meira. 1997. “Liberalism Versus Democracy? Schooling Private Citizens in the Public Square.” British Journal of Political Science 27 (3): 333–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, Catherine. 1995. “International Comparisons in the Field of Ethnic Relations.” In Racism, Ethnicity and Politics in Contemporary Europe, ed. Hargreaves, Alec G. and Leaman, Jeremy. Aldershot, UK: Elgar.Google Scholar
Lombardo, Emanuela, and Verloo, Mieke. 2009. “‘Gender and “Equality’ in the European Union: Policy Developments and Contestations.” Conference Paper, ECPR 1st European Conference on Politics and Gender, Belfast.Google Scholar
Mabbett, Deborah. 2008. “Aspirational Legalism and the Role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Equality Policy.” Political Quarterly 71 (1): 4552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez, Elizabeth. 1993. “Beyond Black/White: The Racisms of Our Time.” Social Justice 20 (1/2): 2234.Google Scholar
Mazur, Amy, Brouard, Sylvain, and Appleton, Andrew, eds. 2008. Beyond Stereotype: The French Fifth Republic at Fifty. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Meer, Nasar, and Modood, Tariq. 2009. “The Multicultural State We're In: Muslims, ‘Multiculture’ and the ‘Civic Re-balancing’ of British Multiculturalism.” Political Studies 57 (3): 473–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Modood, Tariq. 2007. Multiculturalism. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
Modood, Tariq, Berthoud, Richard, Lakey, Jane, Nazroo, James, Smith, Patten, Virdee, Satnam, and Beishon, Sharon. 1997. Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage. Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities. London: Policy Studies Institute.Google Scholar
O'Cinneide, Colm. 2002. “A Single Equality Body: Lessons from Abroad.” EOC Working Paper Series No 4.Google Scholar
Pilkington, Andrew. 2003. Racial Disadvantage and Ethnic Diversity in Britain. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Schnapper, Dominique. 1994. La communauté des citoyens. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar
Scott, Gill. 2008. “Gender, Poverty and Wealth.” In Understanding Inequality, Poverty and Wealth, ed. Ridge, Tess and Wright, Sharon. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Scott, Joan. 2007. The Politics of the Veil. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siim, Birte. 2000. Gender and Citizenship: Politics and Agency in France, Britain, and Denmark. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverman, Maxim. 1992. Deconstructing the Nation: Immigration, Racism and Citizenship in Modern France. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Squires, Judith. 2007. “The Challenge of Diversity: The Evolution of Women's Policy Agencies in Britain.” Politics & Gender 3 (December): 513–30.Google Scholar
Squires, Judith. 2008. “Intersecting Inequalities: Reflecting on the Subjects and Objects of Equality.” Political Quarterly 79 (1): 5361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Paul. 2009. “Between Two Stools? The Government's ‘Preventing Violent Extremism' Agenda.” Political Quarterly 80 (2): 282–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verloo, Mieke. 2006. “Multiple Inequalities, Intersectionality and the European Union.” European Journal of Women's Studies 13 (3): 211–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2006. “The Structure of Intersectionality: A Comparative Politics of Gender.” Politics & Gender 2 (June): 235–48.Google Scholar