ABSTRACT
‘Multiculturalism’ is one of those polisemic terms whose use is likely to raise a great deal of misunderstandings and incomprehension. It is a notion that may be understood in very different ways (Martiniello 1997; Vertovec & Wassendorf 2004; Sciortino 2003; Vertovec 2007): while in a mere descriptive manner it acknowledges the de facto multicultural makeup of contemporary societies, in political philosophy and public discourse, more prescriptive and value-loaded understandings prevail. In this chapter, I will refer to multiculturalism as an analytical concept, which in sociological and political science research is usually linked to some notion of recognition. This may occur either on the part of groups/collectivities calling for the recognition of their own distinctiveness, or on the part of institutions through policies aimed at addressing groups’ differences. This study is concerned essentially with policy and, even more narrowly, with local policy, to find which actors at the local level are likely to mobilise and/or promote issues of recognition and cultural difference.
