Integration and Political Representation in a Multicultural City: The Case of Frankfurt am Main

Abstract

Cities have long been the destination of those on the move. Migrationand especially immigration always raise issues of inclusion andexclusion, of rights and obligations, and of the meaning of membershipand citizenship. The particular form and content of thesedebates vary, just as host countries, national and local governments,and immigrant populations vary. Over the past few decades, patternsof immigration have begun to shift away from classical immigrationcountries (the United States, Canada, Australia) toward the democraciesof the European Union. “In this troubled world, WesternEurope has in fact, become a fragile island of prosperity, peace,democracy, culture, science, welfare and civil rights,” according tourban sociologist, Manuel Castells. “However, the selfish reflex oftrying to preserve this heaven by erecting walls against the rest ofthe world may undermine the very fundamentals of European cultureand democratic civilization, since the exclusion of the other isnot separable from the suppression of civil liberties and a mobilizationagainst alien cultures.”