Super-Diversity Throughout the World There

Super-Diversity

Throughout the world there is an increase in immigration and the amount of diversity that exist in various areas around the globe; this is particularly true in the United Kingdom. Although the United Kingdom has long been a place where many cultures live and work together, in recent years the type and intensity of the diversity that is present has changed drastically. This drastic change has led to the redefining of the concept of diversity which has been penned as super-diversity. The purpose of this discussion is to provide an overview and analysis of Steven Vertovec's newly developed 2006 theory of 'super-diversity'. The discussion will also focus on how this concept of super-diversity evolved and developed out of the British concept of multiculturalism and how super-diversity relates to or within the theory of multiculturalism.

Diversity in Britain

In the traditional sense of diversity in Britain, the imperial past of the empire created many transnational connections that have occurred as a result of the economic networks of multinational corporations. In addition this diversity has increased through the flow of capital, the migration of labour and the spread of ideas and information (Gardiner & Matthews 2000). The authors also insists that the advent of the internet has created a free movement of information which means that British culture is now available to many regardless of political boundaries.

The authors also insist that the diversity that exists in Britain can be greatly attributed to immigration that has taken place as it relates to the Irish Republic. However, it has been the immigration from Pakistan that has produced a great deal of discussion and created concerns over the 'assimilation' of ethnic minorities that have immigrated to the area. The authors also assert that although overt racism has become less acceptable in Britain, there is still a subversive racism that exists as a part of the culture. As such an innocent or respectful concern for the cultural differences that exist also has the ability to camouflage more disturbing racialised fears. For instance, in 1979 then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher commented that the country was being 'swamped by people with a different culture' (Gardiner & Matthews 2000). This statement was most likely not a racist comment from her standpoint, she was most likely referring to the differences in the manner in which people conduct themselves. However, by some it was interpreted as racist.

Comments such as these and the changes that have occurred in Britain over the last few years have created the need to re-evaluate diversity in the region and how people in the region can work together to understand this new type of diversity -- which is now referred to as super diversity. According to the report "The Emergence of Super-Diversity in Britain" in the past there have been many attempts at developing tolerance through multicultural policies. The author explain that Multicultural policies have had as their overall goal the promotion of tolerance and respect for collective identities. This has been undertaken through supporting community associations and their cultural activities, monitoring diversity in the workplace, encouraging positive images in the media and other public spaces, and modifying public services (including education, health, policing and courts) in order to accommodate culture-based differences of value, language and social practice. While developed from the 1960s onwards, most of these policies and goals still obtain today. Multiculturalism continues to be discussed and delivered mainly in terms of the African-Caribbean and South Asian communities of British citizens (Vertovec, pg 3)."

Although policies of multiculturalism have been prevalent and beneficial in Britain, there now exists a need to embrace new policies because the nature of multiculturalism and diversity is changing in Britain. With these things being understood, the next section of this discussion will provide an overview and analysis of Steven Vertovec's newly developed 2006 theory of 'super-diversity'.

Super-Diversity

Vertovec explains that over the past decade pattern of immigration and the nature of diversity have changed drastically in the UK. The article explains that there has been a significant increase in both net immigration and the diversification of nations of origin.

These immigration changes have resulted in at least six measures developed by parliament. These measures include: the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill 2005, the Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the Asylum and Immigration Acts of 1993, 1996, 1999, and the Nationality, the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 (Vertovec, 2006).

In addition, the author insists that during the past ten years there has existed an increase in the number of migration channels and immigrant legal statuses. In addition there have been many conflicts taking place throughout the world contributing to a considerable increase in the amount of people seeking asylum (Vertovec, 2006). These new and numerous immigration flows have been referred to as 'the new migration' (Robinson and Reeve 2005, Kyambi 2005).

The author explains that in 2004 there were approximately 2,857,000 foreigners living in the United Kingdom. These individuals make up 4.9% of the entire population of 58,233,000 (Salt 2004). This number was an increase of 40% since 1993 or 857,000.

As you can see this is a drastic increase in the number of foreign born people living in the UK over a relatively short period of time.

Vertovec asserts that the influx of people from diverse backgrounds has caused both a differentiation in immigration statuses and their associated entitlements and restrictions of rights. In addition these differentiations exist as it relates to gender and age characteristics, experiences in the labour market, and community reactions of both service providers and residents (Vertovec, 2006). In most cases these factors are not discussed together but separately. In addition concerns about ethnic diversity and the stratification of immigrants' rights are discussed individually. However, Vertovec asserts that these factors and issues should be explored in a manner that is collaborative. This type of collaborative way of exploring the issues surrounding the new immigration is what the theory of super diversity is founded upon. That is, "Super-diversity underscores the fact that the new conjunctions and interactions of variables that have arisen over the past decade surpass the ways - in public discourse, policy debates and academic literature - that we usually understand diversity in Britain (Vertovec, 2006-page 1)."

As was stated previously traditional views of diversity in Britain have usually focused upon what was seen as simple cultural differences. However in today's Britain these cultural differences are much more complex. This complexity exist most as it relates to religion; this has been particularly true after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. And the attacks that followed in 2005 in London. Both attacks were carried out by Muslim extremists. As such it has been important for Britain to have a clear understanding of the various religious beliefs that exist amongst new immigrants.

The report points out that the majority of new immigrants to the country are from Christian backgrounds. However, many others are Muslim, Hindu or Sikhs. Having these primary religions in one place would not be so challenging if each religion only came with one set of beliefs. However each of the aforementioned religions also has different sects. For instance, in the Muslim religion there are differing belief systems that are often related to the country of origin (Vertovec, 2006. These differences can be very difficult to understand in the UK because amongst the Muslim population in the UK there are people from Nigerians, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Malaysia -- just to name a few (Vertovec, 2006.

Indeed in London alone Muslims are the most diverse body of believers as it relates to both country of origin and ethnicity (Vertovec, 2006. The Muslim population in London alone is 607,083 people and is considered the most diverse of anywhere in the world with the exception of Mecca (Benedictus and Godwin 2005).

The largest group of Muslims in London is from Bangladesh and they compose 23.5% of the Muslim population (Vertovec, 2006).

The report further points out that the aforementioned differences that exist just within the Muslim population of one city are an example of religious super-diversity (Vertovec, 2006). The author asserts that this type of diversity within a single religion can bring about a significant degree of change within the religion particularly at the local level. This change comes about because it is only under the circumstance of immigrating to the UK that these individuals who practice different sects of the same faith would meet and gather a better understanding of the variances that exist within a single faith (Vertovec, 2006). The author describes this as intra-religious contact that has the capacity to encourage change that will have a lasting impact upon religion and identity. Ultimately this impact may impact religion in a manner that is global (Vertovec, 2006).

In addition to religion, language also plays a significant role in the theory of super diversity that is emerging out of Britain. The author explains that many have attempted to explain and confront the multilingualism that is now present in the UK. According to the author there are approximately 300 languages that are spoken in London alone (Vertovec, 2006). The report explains that these languages differ greatly depending on the neighbourhood or the area of the city. These differences exist because people from different countries of origin tend to settle in the same areas. For instance in a neighbourhood such as Harrow, with a large Asian population the top three non-English languages are Gujarati, Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi (Vertovec, 2006). On the other hand there are neighbourhoods in which the people speak languages from vastly different regions of the world. Such is the case in Merton where Creole and Cantonese are common languages (Vertovec, 2006).

This linguistic diversity can be a challenge for those institutions that compose the nation's infrastructure. These institutions include schools, local authorities and hospitals. Each of these institutions has to find unique ways of serving these diverse people groups that speak many different languages. For this very reason new initiatives such as that Language shop have been implemented (Vertovec, 2006). The Language Shop is an all-inclusive translation and interpretation service in more than 100 languages. This service is provided to Newham Council and its partners, including neighbouring councils and community groups (Vertovec, 2006).

In addition, Language Line is designed to assist health authorities and others in the public sector and provides both telephone and in-person translations in 150 languages (Vertovec, 2006).

In addition to understanding the variations that exist amongst religions and the challenges that are presented by language differences, the author insists that there is a great deal of complexity related to immigration status and the stratification of rights. According to the report there are different entitlements based on a single migrant status category. In addition there are often inconsistencies associated with the underlying principles of the system which was developed in an ad hoc manner over the course of several years (Vertovec, 2006). This system is reflective of competing pressures including whether to provide access to a service because the individual needs it, or because it is good for society (e.g. pubic health). Or whether to deny a service in order to protect public funds ensure that access does not prove an attraction for unwanted migrants or to appease public opinion. This means that neither service providers, advice-givers nor migrants themselves are clear as to what services they might be entitled (Vertovec, 2006)."