In the shadows: Dublin's immigrant policies in the context of highly centralized governance

Abstract

This article examines Dublin's approach to managing migration, arguing that the city follows a ‘pragmatic assimilationist’ paradigm (Alexander, 2007; Schiller, 2015) characterised by a reactive stance (van Breugel, 2020), projectisation, and multi-actor ‘government’ (Schiller, 2018). The findings highlight the dominance of national-level policies in shaping local strategies, which, coupled with the absence of an elected mayor and the limited powers of Dublin City Council, further constrain local governance capabilities. Additionally, the privatised and fragmented local service provision, along with insufficient collaboration with civil society, restricts Dublin's local autonomy as well as civil society's freedom. Through 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants and document analysis, this study provides detailed empirical insights into Dublin's governance landscape, contributing to the academic discourse on local immigration governance and the factors influencing it.