Land of welcome, land of fear: explaining approaches to ‘new’ diversity in Catalonia and South Tyrol

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to recent work on the interplay between sub-state nationalism and migrant integration, showing the different government approaches toward migration developed in Catalonia and South Tyrol and exploring factors behind this divergence. In particular, the articles emphasised three main interplaying variables: (1) previous historical experience with internal migration; (2) how this experience shaped the process of national identity construction; (3) and the institutional context, that is, arrangements in place to regulate and manage ‘old’ diversity. In this way, the article lays bare additional contingent processes that advance accounts of the relationships between ‘old’ national minorities and ‘new’ migrant communities.

KEYWORDS:

• South Tyrol
• Catalonia
• immigrant policy
• civic-ethnic nationalism
• consociationalism

Introduction

As a political phenomenon, migration has become salient for many autonomous regions populated by ‘old’ national minorities. The past decade has seen a rise in investigation of the relationships between national minorities and new migrant communities, challenging the assumption that national minorities harbour defensive attitudes towards migration because of the belief that migrants seek to integrate into the majoritarian society. Scholars revealed the variety and complexity of relations between old and new minorities, showing that attitudes of national minorities towards migrants shift between regions and over time. Several variables are at play at the local, national and international level, including: demographic trends and the condition of the local economy; local parties’ ideologies, electoral system and party competitions; the extent of autonomous government powers; national migration policies; the relationship between the national minority and the central nation-state; and the development of supranational institutions (see, e.g. Jeram, van der Zwet and Wisthaler 2015; Franco-Guillén 2015; Hepburn 2011; Zapata-Barrero 2009).

This article contributes to this body of work by analysing the case of Catalonia and South Tyrol. I compare the approaches toward migration developed by the Catalan and South Tyrolean governments, exploring key factors shaping them. Drawing on Czaika and de Haas’ conceptualisation of migration policies (2013), I study ‘approaches’ referring to actual migration policies on paper (laws and rules directed explicitly to regulate migration issues) and government discourses as expressed in policy documents used to frame issues and set out policies. Emphasis is on the comparison of main policy measures and principles guiding government actions in Catalonia and South Tyrol, rather than internal dynamics within each case study, acknowledging that policies are result of tug-of-war among several actors and conscious of the variety of political discourses and possible gaps between discourses and policies (Czaika and de Haas 2013; Schmidt 2008).

The comparison of Catalonia and South Tyrol expands our understanding of the relationship between old and new minorities. Catalonia is a Spanish autonomous community where most of the inhabitants emphasise their Catalan language and national identity. Before the recent economic crisis, Catalonia experienced a large influx of migrants from foreign countries, particularly since 2000. In 2014, according to the Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya, 14.5% of the 7.4 million inhabitants of Catalonia were of foreign origin. Of the 1,085,523 foreigners, more than a third came from EU countries, 27.9% from Africa, 19.3% from the Americas, 13.4% from Asia. South Tyrol is an Italian autonomous province with German and Ladin-speaking inhabitants (respectively 69.4% and 4.5% of the population). In the last fifteen years, South Tyrol has witnessed the arrival of many foreign migrants; in 2013, they represented 8.8% of the province’s 516,000 inhabitants. Nearly a third of these 45,469 migrants came from EU countries, another third from other European countries, 17.5% from Asia and 12.5% from Africa (ASTAT 2014, 3–10).

Though many regions characterised by sub-state nationalism deal with new minorities, Catalonia and South Tyrol were selected because of similarities along various dimensions. Even if Catalonia has a longer experience with foreign migration, in both territories the presence of migrants is a salient demographic phenomenon since the turn of the century. Furthermore, the regions share similar economic situations, being both wealthy regions absolutely and in comparison with the rest of the country.¹ The two territories also have similar competencies in matters of migration, being responsible for immigrant policy (the socio, economic and cultural integration of the migrant population) whereas the central state controls migratory flows. Finally, both territories experienced Fascist repression in the past and today have a high degree of political autonomy and several measures to protect the local language and culture.

The comparison between South Tyrol and Catalonia is instructive as the inclusion of migrants and their diversity in hosting societies situates the two territories on opposite ends of the spectrum. Franco-Guillén and Zapata-Barrero (2014, 265) distinguish between positive and negative stances on migration; in the former, migration is accepted and ‘described as an opportunity for social cohesion or even for nation-building’, whereas, in the latter, there is apprehension towards migrants, who are described ‘as a problem or threat to social cohesion and nation-building’. Catalonia is often portrayed as having a positive inclusive attitude toward migration, exemplified in the adoption of the concept of resident citizenship, according to which migrants are considered as citizens of Catalonia with equal rights, valorising migrant diversity and using the Catalan language as the key instrument of social cohesion. By contrast, South Tyrol is characterised by exclusive negative attitudes with policies that overshadow migrant diversity and limit migrants’ access to social services. While approaches to migration in both Catalonia and South Tyrol are more nuanced and complex, the contrast between the two territories is quite strong. Why are Catalonia and South Tyrol characterised by such different approaches to migration?

To answer this question, I adopt a framework to analyse the distinct migration approaches in Catalonia and South Tyrol by considering three aspects. First, I look at the historical experience of the local ‘old’ inhabitants with internal migration. Second, I ask how this experience affected the process of identity construction and the prevalent understanding of group boundaries. Third, I explore recent institutional developments within regions: the arrangements implemented in Catalonia and South Tyrol for dealing with their old cultural diversity. I find that, in Catalonia, where in light of internal migration of Castilian-speakers an inclusive civic sense of identity has prevailed, policies aimed at promoting Catalan language and culture have also benefited the migrant population. Instead, in South Tyrol, which is characterised by a traumatic experience with internal migration of Italian-speakers and exclusive identities, consociational arrangements have negatively influenced migration policies, which are driven by the need to fit the South Tyrolean system to protect minorities. The article shows how institutional factors in interplay with historical and identitarian dynamics affect local government approaches toward today’s migration and migrants’ diversity.

This article analyses legal and policy documents, draws from previous empirical studies on Catalonia and South Tyrol and builds on original research. After reviewing all laws and policy documents of the Catalan and South Tyrolean governments in the matter of migration in the period 2000–2015, the most paradigmatic were selected to highlight the main principles guiding government action. Discourse analysis was used to gauge the specific features of the Catalan and South Tyrolean approaches to migration and their development. To further contextualise governments’ approaches, the article incorporates observations made during the ALIAS (Autonomy, Labour and Integration in Alto Adige/Südtirol) project (2011–2013), carried out by the Institute for Minority Rights of Eurac Research and the Centre Internacional Escarré per a les minories ètniques i les nacions, which considered laws and policies in matters of migration in autonomous regions (South Tyrol and Catalonia).² As part of the project ALIAS, unstructured interviews were conducted in South Tyrol and in Catalonia with public officers involved with migration, civil society groups working with migrants and local experts.³ These interviews provided deeper insight into Catalan and South Tyrolean approaches toward migration, their background, and main concerns raised by migration in the two territories.

This article proceeds as follows. First, I situate the research in the relevant scholarship: on the relations between national minorities and new migrant communities, and on comparative migration studies. In the following two sections, I highlight key historical factors in Catalonia and South Tyrol and national identity features in the two territories, and I analyse Catalan and South Tyrolean policies to protect old diversity. Then, fourth, I examine how these factors interact with approaches concerning today’s foreign migration. In the conclusions, I discuss my findings in light of previous research.

Old and new minorities and migrant integration

This article contributes to two main research fields in political science. It is situated within works exploring the interplay between ‘the “old” politics of sub-state nationalism’ and ‘the “new” diversity of immigration’ (Barker 2015, 2). At the same time, it contributes to studies comparing migrant integration.

Within migrant integration studies, the article engages with the debate around the convergence or divergence of migrant integration policies. Many scholars have focused on the notion of national models, often explaining the differences among nations through ideological arguments, for example, in terms of public philosophies or historical conceptions of nationhood (Brubaker 1990; Favell 2014). Koopmans et al. (2005) further developed the idea of models by distinguishing four ideal-types of citizenship regime based on two dimensions: the degree of equality in accessing citizenship (and related rights) and the amount of cultural difference allowed. In the first dimension, the continuum runs from ethnic conceptions of citizenship based on blood and cultural bonds to civic conceptions based on territorial principle. The second dimension ranges from regimes that insist on cultural monism to those characterised by cultural pluralism. The four ideal-types so identified are: assimilationism (ethnic/cultural monism), segregationism (ethnic/cultural pluralism), universalism (civic/cultural monism) and multiculturalism (civic/cultural pluralism). The relevance of national models has been questioned by scholars, who highlight the weakening of national distinctiveness. Joppke (2007) pointed out a convergence in terms of a turn to civic integration that focuses on the duty of migrants to learn the value and culture of hosting liberal state even through illiberal means. Koopmans et al. (2005), while maintaining the salience of cross-national variations, observed a general trend toward a civic-territorial understanding of membership.

This article addresses gaps in both sides of the debate. National models overlook the fact that while states are in charge of migration policy and citizenship rules, many aspects of this policy field, especially integration policy, unfold at the sub-state level, especially in federal and decentralised states like Spain and Italy (Hepburn and Zapata-Barrero 2014). Furthermore, the comparison between Catalonia and South Tyrol, which, as showed below, fit different ideal-types identified by Koopmans et al., complements observations conducted at the national level and casts new light on convergence trends. Thus, in line with Adam (2013), the article argues for the importance of considering the sub-state level and the politics of sub-state nationalism in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of migrant integration.

Studies on the interaction between old and new minorities have highlighted various independent variables affecting migration policies at the sub-state level. The article expands this scholarship by focusing on the role of local institutional factors in interplay with historical and identitarian dynamics. In earlier research on the relation between sub-state nationalism and migration, Shafir (1995) underscored the importance of specific historical experiences (the process of modernisation and the arrival of internal migrant workers that resulted from this process) and their impact on national identity to explain nationalists’ attitudes toward migrants. Recently, Jeram and Adam (2014) re-emphasised history and identity, arguing that minority nationalists’ response to migrant diversity depends on historical narratives of past oppression. Other scholars have looked at how aspects of national identity, such as the ethnic or civic conceptualisation of the nation, affect attitudes toward migration (e.g. Franco-Guillén and Zapata-Barrero 2014). However, identities and historical narrative are not static entities, and can shift based on contextual elements. Structural, institutional, demographic changes can alter the sense of belonging and the content of dominant narratives. In particular, historical institutional analyses have shown how institutions and policies shape the politicisation and saliency of cultural divisions (Laitin 1985). Furthermore, existing institutions and policies influence subsequent institutional and policy developments through path dependency dynamics (Pierson 2000).

Institutional factors have not been unexplored in comparative studies on migrant integration. According to Favell (2014) distinct public philosophies in matter of migration are entrenched in institutional arrangements, like colonial classificatory devices. Dutch accommodating multicultural policies have been seen as the extension of the historical tradition of ‘pillarization’ (consociationalism), aimed at pacifying relationships among native religious and political groups (Koopmans et al. 2005; Vink 2007). Still, in literature on the relation between sub-state nationalism and migration, the explanatory power of local institutions remains unclear. According to Adam (2013), the dual, centrifugal and asymmetrical features of the Belgian federation, does not account for the different policies developed by the Belgian sub-state entities. However, Adam focused on the features of the institutional division of powers ‘between regions’, rather than the features of policies toward old diversity developed ‘within a region’. Looking at these policies within a region, the effects of institutions might be greater. Indeed, Wisthaler (2015) argues that consociational institutions in South Tyrol reinforce the tendency of stateless nationalist parties to ‘think in groups’ when developing their discourses on immigration. She refers to path dependent processes, in the sense of the effect of previous institutions on intellectual frames, but leaves the analysis of their effect on policies to further researches. Considering historical boundary-making strategies in relation to immigrants and emigrants, Arrighi de Casanova (2012) underscores path dependency for Scottish and Catalan governments’ actions toward migrant inclusion, but downplays its role, arguing that Catalan policies were adjusted to features of current foreign migration, that is, migrants’ legal status and their greater cultural diversity.

Such arguments might be limited by research design. Whereas Wisthaler analyses a single case study, Arrighi de Casanova’s comparison holds historical institutions constant, since in Catalonia and (beginning in the 1960s) in Scotland, membership in the community has been defined on territorial grounds. Arrighi de Casanova (2012, 273) proposes that to better understand the relationship between migration policies and institutional factors, it is necessary to expand the analysis to other cases that show more variations. As a multi-case study on Scotland, Flanders and Brussels, and Quebec, Barker (2015) argues that the local institutional context interacts with sub-state nations’ perception of immigration, but embeds institutions with other independent variables. Her finding does suggest a role for the local institutional context in the case of Belgium.

This article further develops this line of research with a framework that analyses approaches toward today’s migration in light of historical experiences with internal migration, their effects on national identities, and institutional arrangements in place to address old diversity. Comparing Catalonia to the less known South Tyrol case, I advance our understanding of the role of local institutional factors in interplay with historical and identitarian dynamics.

Historical legacy and Catalan/South Tyrolean national identities

Catalonia and South Tyrol experienced ‘recent’ political/cultural oppression under a Fascist dictatorship concomitantly with a large influx of migrants from the rest of the country. However, this occurred in diverse sociological and economic contexts with repercussions for the process of national identity formation.

Catalonia lies at the centre of Spain’s economic development. During the nineteenth century, the region experienced an earlier process of industrialisation, drawing Castilian-speaking migrants from other parts of Spain. The main driver of this industrialisation was an indigenous Catalan-speaking bourgeoisie, who supported a cultural revival of Catalanism. Thereby, Catalan language and culture assumed prestige as the language of capital.

With the advent of the Franco regime, Madrid pursued repressive policies, abolishing self-governing institutions and prohibiting Catalan language and culture in the public realm. Under the dictatorship, Catalonia remained one of the economic cores of Spain, continuing to attract Castilian-speaker workers from poorer Spanish regions. About 1.4 million people settled in Catalonia between 1950 and 1975. They were mainly lower-class unskilled workers who moved for economic reasons. Their presence did not spark what Arel (2001, 77) calls a ‘fear of minorisation’ in Catalan society. Notwithstanding Franco’s policies, Castilian-speaking migrants saw the prestige connected to the Catalan language, used by commercial and industrial bourgeoisie; therefore, with the restoration of democracy in 1978, many migrants were willing to embrace the local language and culture to improve their social status (Keating 2001, 166; Arel 2001, 86). At the same time, Castilian-speaking migrants came to be integrated through unions and leftist parties in the Catalan cultural and linguistic project (Vilaròs 2003, 230–232). The 1979 Catalan Statute of Autonomy (re)-established the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2005, a new Statute of Autonomy was enacted, but, five years later, the Spanish constitutional Court ruled against some of its measures, sparking secessionist demands.

Like Catalonia, South Tyrol became subject to repressive policies after coming under the Italian state in 1919. Most of the population was German-speaking and Mussolini’s Fascist regime dictated the Italianisation of the territory: only Italian was permitted in offices and schools. The Fascist regime also created industrial areas in the main South Tyrol towns to foster Italian immigration; the economy of the region shifted from traditional agriculture and small commerce to modern chemical, metallurgic and hydroelectric sectors. The new factories discriminated against German-speaking workers, by employing incoming Italian-speakers. The Italian population increased from 7,000 in 1910 to more than 100,000 in 1943. At the same time, Mussolini and Hitler made an agreement to relocate part of the South Tyrolean German-speakers into the Third Reich. As result of Fascist policies, both public administration and industry spoke Italian. Controlling the most dynamic sectors of society, Italian-speakers had few incentives to learn German and reach out to the German-speaking population. Thus, opposed to Catalonia’s absorption of Castilian-speaking migrants, internal migration in South Tyrol was experienced by the German-speaking population as ‘a trauma’ (Carlà 2016, 67), sparking a fear of minorisation.

Following World War II, some of these dynamics continued under the Italian democratic regime despite the 1946 De Gasperi-Gruber agreement between the Italian and Austrian governments that provided for measures to protect the German-speaking group. Rome poorly implemented the Agreement with the first Statute of Autonomy (1948) and immigration of Italian speakers continued. German-speakers dubbed the arrival of Italian-speaking migrants the ‘Todesmarsch’ (March of Death). A subsequent convulsive period was characterised by the creation of a separatist movement, bomb attacks of Italian symbols, and the Austrian government’s decision to bring South Tyrol to the attention of the UN. Ethnic tensions started to dissipate with the enactment in 1972 of the second Statute of Autonomy, which called for additional measures to protect the German (and Ladin)-speaking population

These dissimilar experiences affected the type of national identities existing in Catalonia and South Tyrol. In Catalonia, historical, social and economic dynamics favoured the development of a national identity ‘mainly’ characterised by its civic elements, in the sense that its membership is open to foreign elements. In the 1960s, there was a nationalist revival and Catalan intellectual circles debated the question of who is a Catalan. The debate was influenced by the concerns raised by migration and questions regarding how Castilian-speaking workers fit into Catalonia. To unify society, Catalan nationalism embraced the idea of including Castilian-speaking migrants, emphasising the need of turning them into Catalans. This process was connected to the centrality that language assumed in Catalan nationalism, understood as the essence of the community and a tool to foster national identity among native Catalans and Castilian-speaking migrants (Roller 2002, 274–275). After the transition to democracy, this inclusiveness and the centrality of language continued to characterise Catalan nationalism. Jordi Pujol, the first president of the Catalan government, declared: ‘In our case […] [nationhood] is […] an achievement of language […] rather than birthplace and inherited culture. Catalanism is acquired and does not have to be innate’ (as quoted in Mercado 2015, 186). As presented below, Catalan inclusiveness for Castilian-speakers will hold benefits for today’s foreign migrants.

The history of South Tyrol has instead favoured the development of an exclusive identity, characterised by the need to protect the group from external threats. Whereas Catalan nationalism is imagined through language (as a feature that can be acquired), the South Tyrol’s local identity has more ethnic features; language is not seen as a tool to unite persons with diverse backgrounds. Until the new Statute of Autonomy produced its effects, distinct competitive identities developed and ‘distrust of “the others” has shaped the sense of belonging of the South Tyrolean population’ (Carlà 2016, 67). Recent decades have seen structural changes in the province that include significant economic growth especially in those sectors (e.g. agriculture) dominated by the German-speaking community, and the emergence of an ethnically mixed population. While parts of South Tyrolean society seek to overcome linguistic divisions, defensive attitudes endure with the demarcation between linguistic groups continually being emphasised. This trend is reflected in the prevailing approaches to foreign migration.

Institutional context: promoting/integrating vs protecting/dividing diversity

That historically rooted inclusive aspects of Catalanism stand in contraposition to the exclusive features of South Tyrolean identity is only one part of the story. Indeed, identities should be considered as narratives open to transformation, influenced by the institutional context in which they are reproduced. In this section, the focus will move to institutional aspects, with a close examination of how institutional arrangements for accommodating the ‘local’ diversity have affected Catalan and South Tyrolean identities and, consequently, local approaches toward migration.

Scholarship on institutional design for divided societies is characterised by various schools of thought that propose different mechanisms to accommodate ‘old’ diversity. In particular, consociationalism (characterised by grand coalition government, mutual veto, proportionality and segmental autonomy) officially recognises ethnic identities and protects ethnic groups by guaranteeing them access to power (see Lijphart 1977). Consociationalism, often considered the best solution to accommodate divided societies, is criticised on various grounds: that is undemocratic and non-effective, it causes government gridlocks, and entrenches divisive identities. Another mechanism to accommodate diversity is ‘territorial pluralism’, namely providing communities with territorially based autonomy, which comes in different forms such as decentralisation and plural federation (McGarry and O’Leary 2011). However, this solution is often considered insufficient and in need of other tools to address diversity and has been regarded as fostering secessionist claims.

Catalonia and South Tyrol represent different systems to deal with old diversity. Catalonia is characterised by institutional arrangements of territorial pluralism and policies that are designed to promote Catalan language and culture in the entire society. In contrast, South Tyrolean institutional arrangements combine territorial autonomy with consociational elements, which seek to recognise and protect the German (and Ladin) speaking groups (Pallaver 2008).

The 1979 Catalan Statute of Autonomy re-established the Generalitat de Catalunya with its own government and parliament. According to the Statute, persons residing in Catalonia should be considered as Catalans for political purpose, defining Catalan citizenship based on residency (Arrighi de Casanova 2012, 118).

Regarding language rights, the Statute states that Catalan is the language of Catalonia, and the official language of the region (along with Castilian) and guarantees the use of both languages in private and public spheres. As argued by Miley (2006, 1), Catalan language policies aimed at strengthening Catalan national identity and integrating/assimilating Castilian-speakers migrants into Catalan society. The 1983 Catalan language law declared Catalan the natural language of Catalonia and fostered its usage, particularly in public administration and education, while guaranteeing the right to use both Catalan and Castilian. The law aimed at encouraging the population, especially Castilian-speakers, to learn and speak Catalan. However, this process was not implemented by force in order to avoid losing consensus for the Catalan nation-building project (see Greer 2003, 323). In 1989, to promote Catalan, the Consorci per a la Normalitzaciò Lingüistica (Consortium for Language Normalization) was created, which offers Catalan courses and activities to encourage the use of Catalan. In 1998, a new law reinforced the use of Catalan, this time giving it preferential treatment in both the public and private sphere. With the law, the agenda moved towards a ‘mono-linguistic policy’ (Roller 2002, 285). Again, the law was not enforced, rather encouraged through education and negotiation with stakeholders (Greer 2003, 325–326).

The school system has played a key role for the promotion of Catalan language. The 1983 law established the progressive use of Catalan as the language of instruction, while at the same time recognising the right of Castilian-speakers to be taught in their mother tongue; students should be competent in both languages at the end of compulsory schooling. Critically, the law prohibited the separation of students based on their mother tongue, fostering a ‘mixed language instructional model’ (Ferrer 2000, 193).

In 2005, institutional developments took a turn. The revised Statute of Autonomy spurred controversy when it defined Catalonia as a ‘nation’, increased the powers of the Catalan government in various arenas, such as immigration, and reinforced the preferential use of Catalan. In 2010, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled against these particular elements, sparking protests and request for self-determination. At the same time, the ruling called for the re-examination of some of the implemented policies, with judgements by Spanish courts against some aspects of Catalan language policies.

As in Catalonia, in South Tyrol, the 1972 Statute of Autonomy provides for territorial autonomy. In addition, South Tyrol is characterised by various consociational measures. South Tyrolean groups are guaranteed proportional representation in the provincial legislative and executive bodies and have veto right. Four years of residency are necessary in order to vote in local elections, thus delaying political membership, differently from Catalonia.

The Statute establishes official bilingualism in the province and various measures protect the use of the German (and Ladin) language, such as the right to speak German in public offices and the duty of public employees to be bilingual. Yet, the education system in South Tyrol is based on the principle of linguistic separatism; the Statute provides for education in children’s mother tongue with compulsory teaching of the other language. Subsequently, three types of school emerged: Italian-language schools, German-language schools and schools in the Ladin valleys. Unlike Catalonia’s use of language as a unifier, South Tyrolean language policies are designed to preserve the linguistic distinctions within society.

In addition, the South Tyrolean Statute provides for the so-called ‘ethnic quota system’, namely the distribution of public employment and resources based on the numerical strength of linguistic groups. Declaration of membership to one of the linguistic groups (Italian, German or Ladin) given at the time of the official population census forms the basis for the proportions. Since 1991, it has been possible to identify with the term altro (something else) and affiliate to an official group. As of the 2011 census, there is an anonymous declaration to determine the consistency of the groups, made by Italian citizens, and a named declaration, used to determine individuals’ membership, made by EU-citizens.

Catalan and South Tyrol’s institutional arrangements follow different systems for accommodating old diversity. Catalonian territorial autonomy comes with policies that combine the recognition of linguistic pluralism with the fostering of Catalan idiosyncrasies and the integration of the population established in Catalonia into a predominantly Catalan society (Carlà 2014). Measures to promote the use of Catalan language and integrated schools seek to develop and expand a common Catalan identity. Until the new Statute of Autonomy, this goal has been pursued mainly through persuasion rather than imposition. The Catalan system avoids reinforcing linguistic cleavages; rather it has aimed at integrating, if not assimilating, the Castilian-speaking population in the Catalan nation-building project, encapsulating the inclusive aspects of Catalan national identity.

In sharp contrast, South Tyrol institutional arrangements display territorial autonomy in combination with consociational elements that seek to protect the German-speaking group and its diversity. Features of the system, such as the schools, aim at keeping the groups separate and fortifying their own sense of belonging. As a result, each linguistic group has its own organisations (e.g. parties and mass media) and, in parts of the South Tyrolean society, contact between the groups remains limited. While the system fosters peaceful coexistence, these institutional arrangements solidified the linguistic divisions of the South Tyrol population, reifying the exclusionary aspects of South Tyrolean identities.

Scholars have long debated which institutional mechanisms best address divided society. Comparing Catalonia and South Tyrol in light of this debate is beyond the scope of the article. Instead, below I explore how Catalan and South Tyrolean institutions to accommodate old diversity interact with issues concerning foreign migration.

Approaches toward migration

I argue that, in interplay with historical and identitarian dynamics, the variance in South Tyrolean and Catalan institutional arrangements to protect old minorities is reflected in their approaches toward recent migration. One can trace a line of continuity between characteristics of Catalan autonomy and language policies with the development of an inclusive positive approach toward migration, which, although with increasing emphasis on the learning of Catalan language and culture, is respectful of migrant diversity and promotes full inclusion in the society on an equal basis. South Tyrolean consociational institutions have instead favoured the development of an ambiguous and partially negative approach to migration; the foreign population is treated as a distinct element, at times discriminated against, and seen as a problem, whose effects on the society should be contained.

Catalonia, land of welcome

The Catalan approach toward foreign migration is linked to characteristics of Catalan political autonomy and language policies (Climent-Ferrando, 2012, 43), reflecting their inclusive goals. It is characterised by the awareness that migration interplays with maintaining Catalan identity and its nation-building project. A unique Catalan approach was developed with the Intergovernmental Plan for Immigration (2001–2004), enacted in 2001 by the Catalan government, which at the time was controlled by the nationalist centre-right party Convergència i Unió (CiU). Partly with the intent to differentiate Catalonia from restrictive policies of Madrid, which had limited access to social services for undocumented migrants (Jeram 2014), the plan introduced ‘the Catalan Way of Integration’. The concept balances respect for the diversity derived from migration and the need for a sense of belonging to the Catalan community. Acknowledging that today’s immigration has positive economic, social and cultural effects, yet might also increase social conflicts, the Catalan Way entails providing equality, fostering dialogue, and preserving social cohesion.

Alongside the plan, Decree 188/2001 recognised some social rights of undocumented migrants that national legislation had taken away. Diversity awareness campaigns were launched. Moreover, the learning of the Catalan language became a key element of integration policies; there was a noticeable increase in the number of language courses and funds available (Climent-Ferrando 2012). The same institutions that had spent the 1980s and 1990s teaching Catalan to Castilian-speakers, such as the Consortium for Language Normalization, were now responsible for teaching foreign migrants.

The Catalan Way was further elaborated under the left-wing government (made up of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, and Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds), elected in 2003 after 23 years of CiU’s power. A new Citizenship and Immigration Plan 2005–2008 developed the idea of resident citizenship, according to which anybody who lives or settles in Catalonia is considered a citizen of Catalonia, regardless of her/his place of origin, echoing the definition of Catalan citizenship in the 1979 Statute. Resident citizenship means that all residents enjoy equal rights and opportunities. Social cohesion among resident citizens is enabled by the Catalan language, which is elevated as the common public language. The plan embraced multiculturalism as part of Catalan culture (Jeram 2014, 233). Resident citizenship aims to infuse migrants with a sense of belonging to the Catalan community, thereby encouraging them to participate in the Catalan nation-building process.

Meanwhile, the 2005 new Statute of Autonomy that increased Catalan competencies on migration and reinforced the preferential use of Catalan was approved. Subsequently, the consensus that had previously characterised Catalan migration policy started to erode. This was partly due to the emergence of anti-migrant attitudes, represented by the success in municipal elections of the xenophobic party Plataforma per Catalunya (until 2015 when the party faced a dramatic loss of votes) and the decision of the Partido Popular to adopt racist statements in the 2010 Catalan electoral campaign.

Within the framework of the new Statute, the Law on Reception for Immigrants and Returnees to Catalonia was enacted in 2010. The law aimed to facilitate migrants’ integration, by developing a standard reception service for all Catalonia and promoting equal opportunities. In line with the Statute of Autonomy, the law declared Catalan the primary language for reception services; a policy opposed by the Partido Popular and Ciutadans (a recently created pro-Spanish party), which wanted integration to occur in bilingual (Catalan and Castilian) terms (Zuber 2014, 14). Besides Catalan, the law established the use of migrants’ languages in training and information activities, while identifying the Consortium for Language Normalization as the main institution responsible for providing knowledge of the Catalan language. The Spanish Ombudsman appealed the Law, claiming that it was not possible to impose Catalan at the expense of Castilian and deprive migrants of the possibility to choose their language of integration.⁴

In light of the emergence of anti-migrant attitudes, the law, as implemented by the Decree 150/2014 after the return to power of the CiU,⁵ introduced the certificat d’acollida (reception certificate), which held juridical value for legal migration requirements (but not mandatory) and could be obtained by attending courses on Catalan and Castilian languages, Catalan society and the labour market. This looks like a shift from the idea of resident citizenship towards the European trend of civic integration and its focus on conditioning integration requirements (Jeram 2014).

However, the shift seems modest, subsumed to the goal of integrating migrants in the Catalan nation while stressing equality and pluralism. Following the economic crises, a new immigration plan enacted in 2014 linked the migratory flows to the labour market, but without signalling a departure from the Catalan inclusive approach to migration. The plan refers to the need to increase locals’ awareness about immigration and programmes to fight discrimination, and sees social cohesion as ‘a process of integrating all social or cultural groups in our society from an inclusive standpoint’, ensuring equal access to public services (Generalitat de Catalunya 2014, 45–46). The Catalan language remains the common language, promoted as a tool for social cohesion, while knowledge of migrants’ languages is also fostered. In light of the Catalan request for self-determination, the Plan includes measures to deepen migrants’ participation in the issue, like programmes to publicise the topic, but without providing any budget for these actions, which as of writing remain a statement on paper.

South Tyrol, land of fear

Unlike Catalonia, South Tyrol is characterised by an ambiguous, prevalently negative approach toward foreign migration, encouraged in part by the institutional separation between old linguistic groups. Initially the provincial government, expression of the Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP), a German-speaking catch all party in power since the end of WWII (now in coalition with the Italian-speaking centre-left Partito Democratico), downplayed migration issues. Indeed, South Tyrol was one of the last Italian provinces to adopt a local law on migrant integration (in 2011). For long time, the province did not have a comprehensive framework to deal with migration although some important policy actions were taken, such as creating linguistic centres in schools to provide support to migrant students.

The delay in developing a comprehensive framework to migration was due to various factors. First, migration was initially perceived as a problem of the Italian-speaking community since most migrants attended Italian schools and interacted mainly with Italian speakers. Second, according to Medda-Windischer (2011, 25), South Tyrolean approach to migration has been affected by the presence in the province (as in Italy and most of Europe) of xenophobic parties in both the Italian and German-speaking worlds (e.g. Freiheitlichen and Unitalia). Third, the delay might also arise from the fear of revealing the conflictual issues underlying the relationship between the German- and Italian-speaking communities (Medda-Windischer 2011, 24). Indeed, as shown by Carlà (2015), Italian-speaking parties and those who want to overcome the institutional separation among the historical groups have often used migration to criticise the South Tyrol system of minority protection; that migrants do not fit well in some measures like the separate schools shows how these measures are outdated. Meanwhile, German-speaking nationalist parties assert that migrants weaken South Tyrolean arrangements to protect minorities.

In light of the above, a rather defensive approach towards migration developed that sought to limit the impact of migration on South Tyrolean society, including its ethnic equilibrium. In 2008, the provincial government fleshed out its approach to migration in a document entitled Ausländer in Südtirol (Foreigners in South Tyrol). The document focused on migrants as a labour force and emphasised the need to control the number of foreigners. In addition, the document focused on preventing migration for social benefits by, for example, limiting access to South Tyrolean social programmes using the criteria of long-term residency. Finally, the issue of the inclusion of migrants in South Tyrolean separate school system was raised, stressing the need for migrant children to know the language of instruction and for their parents to be informed of different school options.

The year later, the South Tyrolean government clashed with the Italian government, when Rome required an Italian language test in order to obtain long-term residence permits and introduced the so-called accordo di integrazione (integration agreement), a point-system in which migrants declare their commitment to learning the Italian language (among other things). The provincial government unsuccessfully requested to have German test and classes as alternatives. Rome only agreed to add optional German classes in the criteria of the integration agreement. The Italian requirement was considered a violation of the Autonomy Statute and the principle of bilingualism.

With the 2011 provincial law, a new institutional framework was established. In terms of integration, the law specifies ‘a process of mutual exchange’ and identifies as a goal: ‘the mutual recognition of cultural, religious and linguistic identities’. However, these statements remain underdeveloped. Instead, the law stresses that migrants have rights and duties; in particular, migrants should know the local languages (Italian and German) and culture. Furthermore, in line with the 2008 document, the law entitled non-EU migrants to some local economic benefits only after five years of continuous residence in South Tyrol. This last aspect of the law was deemed discriminatory by the Italian Constitutional Court.

This was not the first time that South Tyrolean laws had discriminated against the migrant population. In 2012, the European Court of Justice questioned a provincial law concerning housing benefits. The problematic aspects of the law could be considered part of an attempt to adapt some elements of the South Tyrolean system to protect minorities to the presence of the migrant population (Palaoro and Coletti 2013). According to the ethnic quota system, resources for public housing are distributed among the South Tyrolean linguistic groups based on their numerical strength. In this calculation, non-EU migrants were counted as a fourth group and different criteria were used to determine the allocation of funds, penalising the migrant population. Before the Court handed down its ruling, these criteria were changed and homogenised.

From the ethnic quota system and the related declaration of membership to one of the linguistic groups another example derives of how migrants are discriminated against. In 2013, the Italian national legislation, following EU regulations, allowed non-EU migrants to gain public employment. However, such a law was not implemented in South Tyrol because working in public offices in the province necessitates the declaration of membership that only EU citizens can make. After complaints by the European Commission, a new provincial rule was passed in 2015, permitting non-EU migrants to make the declaration.

To summarise, Catalonia and South Tyrol represent different approaches toward migration. Catalonia is characterised by positive inclusive actions, which emphasise migrants’ rights and their full inclusion in the society while promoting cultural pluralism, although with increasing focus on the learning of Catalan language. This approach aims at making sure that migrants will take on a Catalan identity and support the Catalan nation-building project; a recent shift to civic integration policies appears to be limited by this goal. On the contrary, in South Tyrol, a negative exclusionary approach has prevailed that emphasises the need for migrants to adapt to the society and possesses discriminatory elements. The focus is on the need to limit the negative socio-economic and cultural impact of migration. This distinction between the Catalonia and South Tyrolean approaches can be understood in terms of the typology of Koopmans et al. on citizenship regimes. Catalan approach is situated between the universalist and the multicultural types, since it is characterised by civic-territorial elements for the constitution of the community and promotes the adoption of a common Catalan language, but also valorises migrant cultural diversity. South Tyrol instead is closer to the assimilationist type, stressing migrants’ duty to learn local languages and culture and refraining from providing equal membership in the community in terms of accessing rights (as opposed to civic-territorial understanding of membership). Thus, the analysis corroborates findings around the persistence of divergence in migrant integration regimes.

These approaches reflect the past experience of Catalan and South Tyrolean society with internal migration and the peculiarities of Catalan and South Tyrolean identities. Catalan approach is related to the positive experience that Catalan society had with internal migration of Castilian-speakers and the prevalent inclusive civic characteristics of Catalan national identity. South Tyrolean negative approach is in part related to the trauma of the arrival of Italian-speaking migrants and the prevalent exclusive ethnic characteristic of South Tyrolean identity.

Such historical and identitarian dynamics interact and are reinforced by existing institutional elements. Catalan migration policies are closely connected to Catalan language policies, reproducing their logic of promoting Catalan language and culture in the entire society, a fact reinforced by the circumstance that the same institution (i.e. the Consortium for Language Normalization) is in charge of promoting Catalan language among Castilian-speakers as well as foreign migrants. Instead, South Tyrolean consociational arrangements not only have favoured the tendency to ‘think in groups’ (Wisthaler 2015), reinforcing the view of migrants as ‘other’, but also brought about the development of ‘in groups policy’. South Tyrolean migration policies have at times been designed to fit the existing separation among the three ‘old’ linguistic groups, addressing the migrant population as a distinct (and discriminated) group. Thus, in both cases, we witness versions of path dependency dynamics, where previous institutional choices affect subsequent institutional and policy developments.

Conclusions

This article contributes to recent work on the interplay between sub-state nationalism and migrant integration, showing the different approaches toward migration developed in Catalonia and South Tyrol and exploring factors that explain this divergence. In particular, the article emphasises three main interplaying variables: (1) previous historical experience with internal migration; (2) how this experience affected the process of national identity construction; and (3) the institutional context, that is, arrangements in place to manage old diversity.

The analysis sheds new light on path dependency processes in interplay with historical and identitarian dynamics. First, the findings corroborate the need to consider institutional dimensions in addition to ideological arguments about migrant integration patterns, which mainly focus on historical understanding of nationhood. Second, I expand Wisthaler’s research (2015), which invoked path dependency to refer to the influence of institutions on parties’ discourses. In the above comparison, we see narrower ‘institutional’ path dependent processes at play, in the sense that previous institutional developments in part shaped South Tyrolean and Catalan migration policies. However, I recognise that the explanatory power of path dependency might have limits, since policies are adapted to the characteristics of today migration, as Arrighi de Casanova (2012) shows in his study of Catalonia. Yet, adding a case study highlights how past institutions affect at least the initial direction of policy developments, marking a sharp difference between Catalonia and South Tyrol. Incidentally, I do not intend to provide a general theory to explain all the complexity of the relationship between national minorities and new migrant communities. Other factors are at play, like, as emerged in the account, national migration policies. Approaches toward migration might change over time based on new contextual elements.

Institutional mechanisms to address old diversity interact with and have repercussions for approaches toward new diversity stemming from foreign migration. While the consociational measures that characterise South Tyrol have been successful in diluting ethnic tensions among the old linguistic groups, they have complicated the topic of foreign migration into the province. Indeed, consociationalism crystallises a vision of South Tyrol as composed of only three linguistic groups. There is not much space for development within South Tyrolean society; thereby the system struggles to address new diversity stemming from foreign migration. Furthermore, consociational solutions are challenged when there are changes in the population balance (Laitin 1995). What we see in South Tyrol is that this occurrence might not only be the result of internal dynamics concerning the old groups; rather, foreign migration is impacting South Tyrolean consociational mechanisms and the ethnic equilibrium among the old linguistic groups that they have created. Instead, though increasingly contested, Catalan institutional measures and policies that combine the fostering of Catalan language and a common Catalan identity with the recognition of old diversity seem better equipped to cope with the demographic transformations caused by foreign migration. Thus, debates on consociationalism and institutional design for divided societies, beyond the focus on the old ethnic cleavage and which solutions best accommodate old diversity, might gain from considering how such mechanisms interplay with foreign migration.⁶

In this context, it should be noted that the South Tyrol case, where consociationalism is related to a negative approach to migration, diverges from the observation that Dutch multicultural policies derives from the heritage of ‘pillarization’. Consociationalism in the Netherlands turned in an additional pillar for the migrant population, whereas in South Tyrol the focus is on how migrants could fit, without disrupting, the existing system to protect minorities. Further researches should explore such divergent outcomes at the nation-state and sub-state level.

The article also deepens comparative studies on migrant integration, offering new perspectives on observations conducted at the national level. In Catalonia, a turn to civic integration seems limited by the need to avoid alienating the migrant population in light of its inclusion in the nation-state building project. Following the consociational framework, South Tyrolean policies at times treat migrants as a distinct group, limiting its access to equal rights, in addition to spreading of a civic-territorial understanding of membership observed in cross-national comparisons. The comparison between Catalonia and South Tyrol highlights divergences in regimes of migrant integration, but it points out the need to add a sub-state dimension to nationally bounded views of the politics of immigration, not only because many immigrant policies unfold at the sub-state level, but also for the relevance of local factors that cause significant policy variations. Thus, the article corroborates the need to consider how the sub-state level and the politics of sub-state nationalism interplay with national configurations and cross-national trends.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Alexandra C. Budabin, Stephen Larin and the journals’ reviewers for their comments. The views expressed herein are those of the author alone. The article is based upon research conducted under project ALIAS – Autonomy, Labour and Integration in Alto Adige/Südtirol, carried out by the Institute for Minority Rights of Eurac Research, in partnership with the Catalan NGO Centre Internacional Escarré per a les minories ètniques i les nacions (CIEMEN). See http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/projects/Pages/projectdetails.aspx?pid=9465. The author thanks the Department of Innovation, Research and University of the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano for covering the Open Access publication costs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The article is based upon work supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) [Grant Number 2/291/2010] (project ALIAS – Autonomy, Labour and Integration in Alto Adige/Südtirol).

Notes

1 Since the analysis considers migration approaches in the long term, the fact that the 2008 economic crisis has severely hit Catalonia whereas South Tyrol has been in part spared is less relevant.

2 See http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/projects/Pages/projectdetails.aspx?pid=9465.

3 In South Tyrol the author interviewed all the three public officers of the provincial bureau responsible for migrant issues in 2011, two representatives of associations dealing with migrants, and two public officers of state offices responsible for migration issues in the province. Together with two academic experts, sixteen representatives of the following institutions/associations were interviewed in Catalonia: Generalitat de Catalunya (Direcció per a la Immigració; Department of culture; and Direcció General de Política Lingüística), Centre Internacional Escarré per a les minories ètniques i les nacions, Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística, Plataforma per la llengua, Centro de Estudios Africanos, Omnium Cultural, Fundació Nous Catalans, Associació Catalana de Municipis i Comarques, and the municipality of Barcellona.

4 After six years a decision on the appeal is still pending.

5 CiU will remain in power until dissolving in 2015 due to disagreement over the secessionist issue.

6 I thank an anonymous reviewer for this insight.