Moving Toward More Inclusive Government Communication in an Era of Superdiversity

• Published date: 01 November 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231190570
• Author: Warda Belabas
• Date: 01 November 2023
• Subject Matter: Perspectives

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231190570

Administration & Society

2023, Vol. 55(10) 1952 –1973

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997231190570

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Perspectives

Moving Toward More

Inclusive Government

Communication in an

Era of Superdiversity

Warda Belabas1

Abstract

Going beyond the practical obstacles of and facilitators for inclusive

government communication, this study stresses the underlying tension

between democratic and bureaucratic values in administrative structures and

its implication for inclusive communication. The clash between on the one

hand efficiency, market-driven patterns, and impartiality and on the other

hand individual rights, advocating equal rights and social justice shows that

in coming to terms with the reality of superdiverse societies governments

need to reconcile these values on the level of actual decision-making and

behavior by public communication practitioners.

Keywords

intercultural communication, diverse publics, governments, public sector

communication, migration-related diversity

Introduction

As practices of living with migration-related diversity have become the norm

in everyday life (Meissner, 2015), governments face the challenge of

developing policies that address the issues of integration and social cohesion.

1Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Corresponding Author:

Warda Belabas, Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University

Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 52, Rotterdam 3000 DR, The Netherlands.

Email: belabas@essb.eur.nl

1190570AAS0010.1177/00953997231190570Administration & SocietyBelabas

research-article2023

Belabas 1953

Consequently, numerous studies have explored the question of how to deliver

public services to migrants, particularly in policy areas such as health ser-

vices, education, and social services (e.g., Dryden-Peterson, 2010; Edward &

Hines-Martin, 2015; Seeleman et al., 2015). Other studies have examined the

necessity of adapting representative democracy to the multiple and complex

identities in diverse societies (Guidikova, 2015). Yet another part of public

administration research has focused on the impact of diversity on organiza-

tional outcomes, including performance, turnover, and the management of

diversity within employee-employer relationships (e.g., Compton & Meier,

2016; Pitts & Jarry, 2009).

However, the diversification of society also has implications for how gov-

ernments communicate with their citizens. Given that many cities now host a

great diversity of minority communities, it is crucial to understand and iden-

tify their specific information and communication needs in order to develop

community-centered and culturally sensitive communication strategies to

respond to those needs, and at the same time, “to prevent and mitigate the

effects of stigmatization” (Vanhamel et al., 2021, p. 2). Communication is an

essential task for governments in modern representative democracies. It is

necessary to create an information environment that allows citizens to learn

about the issues in society that affect them, to understand the actions of gov-

ernment officials, and to express their views to these officials (Carpini, 2004).

Only a limited number of studies, however, have explicitly focused on public

communications by governments in the context of societies that are increas-

ingly affected by migration. This is remarkable, considering that public com-

munication is one of the most important government functions (Liu, Horsley

& Yang, 2012). As the population becomes ever more diverse and fragmented,

an important question emerges: How can governments ensure that they com-

municate with these diverse publics in ways that are both inclusive and effec-

tive? This question becomes even more relevant when we consider the issues

of representative participation and the inclusion of citizens from a variety of

social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds in all kinds of democratic renewal

programs and projects (Bleich et al., 2015; Waylen, 2015). This is particularly

important in these times of increasing polarization among citizens and between

citizens and governmental and political institutions (Dixit & Weibull, 2007).

This topic is central to the concept of the democratic ethos, which refers to the

fundamental capacity of governments to encourage knowledge and participa-

tion among different groups and to foster what Nabatchi (2010) calls “the

increase of citizen comprehension of and appreciation for the humanistic

imperatives of democracy” (p. 381). In order to facilitate intelligent and effec-

tive citizen participation and inclusion (Wildavsky, 1979), I argue that govern-

ments must reevaluate their communication practices in this era of