Public organisations and diversity: approaches to an under-researched topic

In research on migration and ethnicity, institutions and organisations have traditionally played an important role. Citizenship law and institutional discrimination, to name just two examples, have been key research topics. And yet, we maintain that, first, ongoing pro- cesses of diversification present new challenges to the existing institutional structures of major countries of immigration. Second, the specifics of organisations are understudied in this field of research. In this issue, we present examples of research that looks into responses of organisations to diversity, hoping to thus stimulate further debate. As differ- ent types of organisations may respond in different ways, we focus on public organisations in order to make a contribution to a better understanding of their specific characteristics. All articles in this collection investigate developments in west European states with longer- term democratic and welfare-state traditions, features that shape the structure and culture of public organisations and thus impact on their responses to diversity.