Immigrant Incorporation in 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.

• Introduction: Background, framework and focus of the special issue 1. How do political parties deal with the "diversity gap"? Democratic deficits and party strategies 2. Immigrants’ political claims in Portugal: confronting the political opportunity structure with perceptions and discourses 3. Contested discourses on diversity and practices of diversity incorporation in political parties in Germany 4. From participation to confinement: challenges for immigrants’ incorporation in political parties in Spain 5. Exploring the reasons for migrant under-representation in Irish electoral politics: the role of Irish political parties