Intercultural policy and multi-level governance in Barcelona: mainstreaming comprehensive approach
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852315592962 |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| Author | Ricard Zapata-Barrero |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Symposium Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2017, Vol. 83(2) 247–266
!The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852315592962
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
Intercultural policy and multi-level
governance in Barcelona:
mainstreaming comprehensive
approach
Ricard Zapata-Barrero
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Catalonia, Spain
Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to analyse Barcelona’s mainstreaming approach to
intercultural policy from the beginning of its immigration process. My key questions are
threefold: (a) why was Barcelona attracted by the intercultural approach so early in
1997? (b) how can we understand the consolidation of interculturalism? and (c) how
can its successful permanent endurance (16 years) be explained, given different migra-
tory contexts/political governments? I will argue that Barcelona’s status as a key player
within the multi-level system of Catalan and Spanish governance has been a favourable key
factor.
I will first feature the mainstreaming approach, and then defend the argument that the
vertical dimension has helped to strengthen the legitimacy of the horizontal dimension,
as it has provided a favourable environment in which interculturalism can flourish. I
conclude by highlighting the fact that the analysis of Barcelona helps to provide new
meanings for the multi-level governance debate in diverse European cities.
Points for practitioners
Multi-level governance and cities networks influence the policy design and the consoli-
dation of cities’ diversity policies. There is an assumed link for cities between inter-
cultural policies and the mainstreaming approach in diversity policies. The relationship
between the vertical and horizontal dimensions of multi-level governance plays a key
role in promoting a favourable environment for these policies to thrive.
Keywords
Barcelona, diversity, immigration, interculturalism, local government, mainstreaming
policy
Corresponding author:
Ricard Zapata-Barrero, GRITIM (Interdisciplinary Research Group on Immigration), Political and Social
Science Department, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25–27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.
Email: ricard.zapata@upf.edu
Introduction
The background for this article is recognition of the existence of two intercon-
nected dynamics in the current European policy debate. First, there is a common
trend in Europe to go from a state-centred towards a local-centred approach in
diversity policies, where cities are increasingly recognized not only as implementers
of policies, but also as new players in their building processes.
1
Second, within this
context, an increasing number of cities are opting for interculturalism as a new
policy paradigm. There are many European institutional documents and initiatives
evidencing this link.
2
On 15 January 2015 the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe adopted a recommendation on the Intercultural Cities (ICC)
approach, recognizing it as a way forward and recommending it to cities and
governments.
3
Policy and academic debate on this recommendation is now open
in Europe and elsewhere.
4
Barcelona exemplifies the interconnection of these two dynamics, as a result of
the city’s status as a key player within the multi-level system of Catalan and
Spanish governance (Zapata-Barrero, 2013). Furthermore, Barcelona was one of
the first European cities to officially adopt the intercultural lens – in 1997 – even
before the launching of the Intercultural Cities Programme by the Council of
Europe, which happened ten years later, in 2008. As a result, Barcelona is now
leading internationally in this field and is ranked sixth in the Intercultural Cities
Index.
5
The main purpose of this article is to assess Barcelona’s mainstreaming
approach to intercultural policy from the beginning of its immigration process.
My key questions are threefold: (a) why was Barcelona attracted by the intercul-
tural approach so early in 1997? (b) how can we understand the consolidation of
this approach? and (c) how can its successful permanent endurance (16 years) be
explained, given different migratory contexts and political governments? I will
argue that Barcelona’s status as a key player within the multi-level system of
Catalan and Spanish governance has been a favourable key factor for understanding
its initial attraction to the mainstreaming approach assumed in interculturalism, its
consolidation and its current permanence.
Considering the multi-level governance approach of this Special Issue,
6
my focus
links the vertical dimension – specifically the relationship between Barcelona and
the EU level, but also the role of Barcelona as the capital of a national Catalan
community in a multi-national Spain (Zapata-Barrero, 2012) – and the horizontal
dimension, mainly centred in the relationship between Barcelona’s government and
local social and political actors. I argue that the vertical dimension has helped to
strengthen the legitimacy of the horizontal dimension, as it has provided a favour-
able environment in which interculturalism can flourish. Namely, Barcelona’s gov-
ernance tradition as the main reference for the Catalan national community, as well
as its connections with the EU and diverse European cities networks, has provided
the necessary foundation to facilitate a favourable environment for the rise and
consolidation of interculturalism. Being present in most of the European
248 International Review of Administrative Sciences 83(2)
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