Summary of the impact

Uberoi's research on policies of multiculturalism has had national and international impact. Nationally, his research led to a debate in the Independent, UK journalists like David Goodhart discuss it and request follow up pieces. His findings changed the views of the Home Office Chief Scientist and shaped the Labour Party Policy Review. Internationally, as soon as his findings were published, European media outlets like Eurozine and Le Monde sought to reprint his work for their audiences and the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration used his research when deciding not to reject policies of multiculturalism.

Underpinning research

Context: Policies of multiculturalism are criticised in many countries. In the UK, successive governments, scholars and journalists claim these policies discourage the nation's history from being taught in schools or promoted by its institutions while encouraging citizens to see themselves as `black', `white' or `Asian', but not as `British'. These policies thus apparently undermine people's understandings of their nation while encouraging them to see themselves as part of smaller groups thus increasing the possibility of division and conflict between such groups. Uberoi's research shows that despite such criticism, successive UK governments are more supportive of these policies than scholars usually suggest. He also shows how policies of multiculturalism are used not to undermine, but shape, people's understandings of their nation by influencing, for example, history curricula in schools and citizenship classes for immigrants.

Research: This research uses one ESRC research fellowship of £93,564.52 (Ref 1) and one ESRC Festival Of Social Science grant of £900 (Ref 2) two articles Uberoi is the principal author of (Ref 3, 4) and two sole authored articles (Ref 5, 6). Dissemination for all four pieces occurred in 2011-13 while a lecturer in Brunel University's Department of Politics and History where two of the articles were also written.

The first two articles show why the various scholars who claim leading UK politicians are rejecting policies of multiculturalism are incorrect. New elite interview data with UK cabinet and shadow cabinet members, their policy documents and speeches are used to identify two key findings (KF).

KF 1: Successive UK governments criticise policies of multiculturalism while introducing them. These policies in Canada and elsewhere promote understandings of a nation that include minority groups and such policies were introduced by UK governments despite their criticism of these policies (Ref 3).

KF 2: Contrary to scholarly claims, policies of multiculturalism have not been removed in the UK. Leading politicians have criticised caricatures of these policies while increasing their number; and sustained criticism of such policies in different countries since the late 1980s has not resulted in their removal (Ref 4).

The next two articles question the claims of scholars who suggest policies of multiculturalism undermine understandings of a nation. These policies can be used to shape such understandings instead and new archival data that Uberoi is the first scholar to examine is used to identify two more key findings.

KF 3: A Clause was inserted into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 27) to legally empower policies of multiculturalism to promote a more inclusive understanding of Canada in which the country is defined by the way it values its cultural diversity (Ref 5).

KF 4: The way policies of multiculturalism in Canada were used since 1971 suggests they can influence a nation's publicly funded media, education and arts to help shape people's understandings of it (Ref 6).

References to the research

Details of the impact

The key findings in the articles above had three types of national and international impact. They are discussed below and corroborated by evidence (Ref a- i) details for which are in section 5.

Impact on UK public debate, UK and European journalists:

Key finding 1 had an impact on public debate. While the academic article that contains it was still under review, Uberoi used this finding to write an article for the Independent that received 143 responses on the newspaper's website (Ref a). The prominent UK journalist, David Goodhart, discusses the Political Studies article in which key finding 1 appears twice in his new book (Ref b). Indeed, the Huffington Post and www.politics.co.uk wanted follow up pieces as soon as this finding appeared in Political Studies (Ref c). Similarly, European journalists in the Austrian network of 80 journals, Eurozine, requested permission to reprint the Soundings article containing key finding 2 as soon as it was published; Le Monde followed suit and reprinted the entire article as a blog for their readership too (Ref d).

Impact on UK Home Office civil servants, UK Parliamentarians and Labour Party officials:

Key finding 1 also impacted on Home Office civil servants attending an ESRC funded House of Lords seminar devoted to discussing it. The Home Office Chief Scientist said `this research `had been able to uncover and articulate conclusions which not many years ago would have been considered almost inconceivable' and that it had helped to show how the `major political parties... have shifted their positions profoundly' (Ref e). Lord Parekh noted how the research made people `think along unfamiliar lines' and had `an obvious impact, hopefully of lasting value, on those in charge of taking decisions' (Ref f). Similarly, the office of Jon Cruddas MP, who is leading the Labour Party Policy Review, invited Uberoi to participate in Review meetings; and noted how the findings in his Political Studies and Soundings articles `helped to shape policy making discussions around... immigration, integration and multiculturalism' (Ref g).

Impact on civil servants in the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration:

Key findings 1, 3 and 4 all had an impact on Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration officials who `tracked' Uberoi's work `from his doctoral research' onwards (Ref h). Uberoi was flown to Ottawa on the 7 May 2011 to discuss with Director and Director Generals in this Department whether they should emulate the UK government and reject policies of multiculturalism (Ref h). Uberoi used key finding 1 to question whether the UK government was really rejecting such policies; and to ask why emulating the UK was necessary when it was emulating Canada by introducing policies of multiculturalism that promote inclusive understandings of a nation. On 9 May 2011, Uberoi then discussed with some of the same officials and others in the Department of Heritage why rejecting these policies for undermining understandings of a nation was harder in Canada as key findings 3 and 4 suggest such policies are used to shape such understandings instead. The special advisor to the Director General of the Department's Integration Branch said that he and his colleagues found this research `instrumental...in assisting them in their consideration of various policy options for future directions of the Canadian Multiculturalism Program' and it had `significantly influenced how they think about their own work' (Ref h and i).

Between 2011 and 2013 Uberoi's findings provoked debate in the Independent and follow up media pieces. UK journalists referred to his research which also changed the views of UK Home Office officials and shaped discussions in the Labour Party. Internationally, his findings were reprinted in European media outlets as soon as they appeared and were used by Canadian federal government officials.

Sources to corroborate the impact

A. V. Uberoi, `Does Cameron Have Multiculturalist Ambitions' Independent, 8/2/2011

B. D. Goodhart, The British Dream, Atlantic Press, 2013, pp.202-205

C. V. Uberoi and T. Modood, `Making it easier to be British', Huffington Post, 8/11/2012 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-varun-uberoi/immigration-multiculturalism_b_2091847.html ; V. Uberoi and T.Modood, `Just because we're multicultural, it doesn't we can't be British', www.politics.co.uk 14/11/2012

D. Eurozine, online journal http://www.eurozine.com/authors/uberoi.html ; V. Uberoi and T.Modood, `Understanding Multiculturalism' http://tibaert.blog.lemonde.fr/tariq-modood-varun-uberoi-understanding-multiculturalism/

E. Email from Home Office Chief Scientist 1/1/2013

F. Email from Lord Bhikhu Parekh 26/4/2013

G. Emails from Lord Jonathan Rutherford 14/6/12; 2/7/12; 16/10/12; 29/10/13

H. Email from Special Advisor to the Director General, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 26/4/2013

I. Email from Director General of the Metropolis Programme, Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada 9/5/2011