title: "The packaging keeps changing!” The european intercultural cities programme and the politics of policy mobility into Ansan, South Korea

authors: Jang, Youjeong

abstract: This thesis examines the global circulation of the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) and its local adoption in Ansan City in South Korea (hereafter Korea). Since the 2000s, Korea has become a popular destination for international migration in Asia. In the pursuit of a framework to manage ethnic and cultural diversity, growing attention has been paid to European interculturalism in the academic and policy spheres in Korea. Within this context, the ICC was introduced - an urban diversity policy launched by the Council of Europe (CoE), with 164 member cities worldwide as of 2025. In 2020, Ansan became the first city in Korea and second in Asia to join the ICC. Building on the growing national interest in the ICC following Ansan’s accession, this thesis begins by asking how the European approach to diversity management gained legitimacy and credibility within the Korean context. This thesis investigates this process, with a focus on the development, promotion, and circulation of the ICC to cities, initially in Europe and eventually in Asia, including Ansan.  
This thesis adopts a policy mobilities approach to explore how global and local politics have shaped the contours of the ICC’s mobility. It draws on document analysis of the CoE’s official documents on the ICC, and Ansan’s city council transcripts, as well as interviews with 23 local actors in Ansan. Through Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis presents three key findings. First, the global circulation of the ICC is part of a wider set of geopolitical reconfigurations that connect continental aspirations for international visibility and influence across Asia and Europe. Second, the adoption of the ICC in Ansan is marked by a non-linear process, shaped more by political contingencies within the particular local context than by its ideal fit as a policy. Third, the ICC operates as an empty signifier in Ansan, with its significations imbued with the imperatives of local politicians, while remaining detached from the everyday experiences of different local actors. Despite the disconnect between the perspectives of the CoE and Ansan regarding the ICC’s vision, this thesis highlights that the ICC’s mobility created mutual benefits for both parties, with each leveraging the discourse of the intercultural city to advance their respective goals.
Critical insights developed in this thesis suggest that policy mobility studies need to expand their scope to incorporate geopolitics, in order to gain a richer understanding of how policy mobility is co-constituted by shifting global and local dynamics. This has particular implications for urban studies in Asia, demonstrating that Asia has become a key region where Europe seeks symbolic validation for its policy frameworks on a global scale, and that cities in Asia strategically modify and adapt these European, and more broadly, Western policy frameworks to better serve their own urban agendas.

text: "The packaging keeps changing!” The european intercultural cities programme and the politics of policy mobility into Ansan, South Korea This thesis examines the global circulation of the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) and its local adoption in Ansan City in South Korea (hereafter Korea). Since the 2000s, Korea has become a popular destination for international migration in Asia. In the pursuit of a framework to manage ethnic and cultural diversity, growing attention has been paid to European interculturalism in the academic and policy spheres in Korea. Within this context, the ICC was introduced - an urban diversity policy launched by the Council of Europe (CoE), with 164 member cities worldwide as of 2025. In 2020, Ansan became the first city in Korea and second in Asia to join the ICC. Building on the growing national interest in the ICC following Ansan’s accession, this thesis begins by asking how the European approach to diversity management gained legitimacy and credibility within the Korean context. This thesis investigates this process, with a focus on the development, promotion, and circulation of the ICC to cities, initially in Europe and eventually in Asia, including Ansan.  
This thesis adopts a policy mobilities approach to explore how global and local politics have shaped the contours of the ICC’s mobility. It draws on document analysis of the CoE’s official documents on the ICC, and Ansan’s city council transcripts, as well as interviews with 23 local actors in Ansan. Through Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis presents three key findings. First, the global circulation of the ICC is part of a wider set of geopolitical reconfigurations that connect continental aspirations for international visibility and influence across Asia and Europe. Second, the adoption of the ICC in Ansan is marked by a non-linear process, shaped more by political contingencies within the particular local context than by its ideal fit as a policy. Third, the ICC operates as an empty signifier in Ansan, with its significations imbued with the imperatives of local politicians, while remaining detached from the everyday experiences of different local actors. Despite the disconnect between the perspectives of the CoE and Ansan regarding the ICC’s vision, this thesis highlights that the ICC’s mobility created mutual benefits for both parties, with each leveraging the discourse of the intercultural city to advance their respective goals.
Critical insights developed in this thesis suggest that policy mobility studies need to expand their scope to incorporate geopolitics, in order to gain a richer understanding of how policy mobility is co-constituted by shifting global and local dynamics. This has particular implications for urban studies in Asia, demonstrating that Asia has become a key region where Europe seeks symbolic validation for its policy frameworks on a global scale, and that cities in Asia strategically modify and adapt these European, and more broadly, Western policy frameworks to better serve their own urban agendas.

year: 2025-10

title: Dąmbska’s concept of language and Kokoszyńska’s refutation of truth relativism

authors: Ulatowski, Joseph W.

abstract: Izydora Dąmbska and Maria Kokoszyńska-Lutmanowa may be listed among the most accomplished philosophers of twentieth century analytic philosophy. Despite this, their work has largely been underappreciated, especially by truth-theorists. I seek to rectify this injustice by showing how their ideas represent an important innovation to overcome a challenge repeatedly leveled against semantic conceptions of truth. I argue that Dąmbska’s concept of language may serve to neutralise the mistaken impression that Kokoszyńska’s refutation of truth relativism, and others like it, must be relativised to a given language.

text: Dąmbska’s concept of language and Kokoszyńska’s refutation of truth relativism Izydora Dąmbska and Maria Kokoszyńska-Lutmanowa may be listed among the most accomplished philosophers of twentieth century analytic philosophy. Despite this, their work has largely been underappreciated, especially by truth-theorists. I seek to rectify this injustice by showing how their ideas represent an important innovation to overcome a challenge repeatedly leveled against semantic conceptions of truth. I argue that Dąmbska’s concept of language may serve to neutralise the mistaken impression that Kokoszyńska’s refutation of truth relativism, and others like it, must be relativised to a given language.

year: 2023-12-12

title: Racial inequalities in engineering employment in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Roy, Rituparna

abstract: This report presents findings from research on racism and inequality in engineering employment in New Zealand. Conducted as part of the Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) research programme (see: https://wero.ac.nz/), this study examines how racial discrimination operates in recruitment and career progression within the engineering sector. The research was carried out with the support of Engineering New Zealand | Te Ao Rangahau and the Association of Consulting and Engineering New Zealand. 

This research involves two phases of in-depth interviews. The first phase entails interviews with industry key informants such as human resources staff, managers, or people from diversity and culture teams for different engineering firms that ranged from very small to large in size. In the second phase, currently employed engineers from different ethnic groups were undertaken, including Māori, Pacific, Pākehā, Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA). The findings from these two sets of interviews are presented respectively in Section 3 and 4. 

The research also included an analysis of the workforce composition and wage gaps in Engineering based on analysis of Census and New Zealand Income Survey data. This analysis, which is presented in Section 1, revealed the disproportionately low number of female engineers, and of Māori and Pacific people employed as engineers. Analysis of average median hourly wages revealed notable differences, with Māori and Pacific engineers having median wages that are around 80% of the overall median. 

There has been a significant emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in recruitment and human resource management in Engineering in recent years. This emphasis reflects industry efforts to address known ethnic and gender imbalances in the workforce. Industry informants, however, highlighted several challenges, tensions, and contradictions they faced in integrating and practicing DEI in recruitment. Employers often struggle to balance competing frameworks such as equity, meritocracy, and people-focused approaches, making recruitment decisions complex. Despite initiatives like blind CV screening, targeted graduate programmes and preferential shortlisting of Māori and Pacific applicants, the industry remains heavily merit-driven. Additionally, DEI efforts are largely gender-focused, lacking an intersectional approach that considers overlapping social inequities. 

The interviews with engineers revealed that individuals from different ethnic groups face distinct barriers and challenges in securing employment and advancing their careers. For Māori and Pacific engineers, the pathway into engineering is severely limited, with only a small number entering the profession each year. Those currently employed often experience what has been described V as a ‘cultural tax’—being expected to take on cultural responsibilities in addition to their technical roles, without monetary compensation or clear career advancement opportunities. Racialised immigrant engineers, on the contrary, reported devaluation and deskilling of their qualifications and experience based on their ethnic and national origins. Despite extensive work experience in their home countries, they were often required to restart their careers in graduate or entry-level positions. Several participants shared experiences of unfair promotions, where White, European, and Anglophone employees were favoured for leadership roles. When discussing their own career trajectories, most non-Pākehā and nonEuropean participants expressed scepticism about ever being promoted to senior positions with decision-making authority. 

The accounts of discriminations and racial inequalities shared by engineers have profound implications for their employment, career progression, well-being, and society at large. Navigating a predominantly monocultural work environment—marked by challenges like cultural taxation, glass ceilings, and the ‘white boys’ club’—places additional burdens on racialised groups. The pressure to constantly prove their worth further exacerbates these issues, leading to serious retention problems. If not addressed, the sector risks losing engineers from diverse ethnic backgrounds, exacerbating gender and ethnic pay gaps, worsening representation and diversity issues, and reinforcing systemic racial inequities. 

Addressing monoculturalism and the ‘white boys’ club’ culture and fostering a genuinely inclusive profession will require systemic changes within engineering firms and in accepted norms in the profession and industry. Without a shift in workplace culture, efforts to recruit more engineers from underrepresented backgrounds will remain ineffective, as many will continue to leave due to unwelcoming environments. To create lasting change, DEI initiatives must go beyond recruitment and actively reshape the structures, policies, and day-today practices that define the industry. This requires the mindful integration of diverse cultural values and practices into every layer of organisational functions, including recruitment, career advancement frameworks, and job descriptions.

text: Racial inequalities in engineering employment in Aotearoa New Zealand This report presents findings from research on racism and inequality in engineering employment in New Zealand. Conducted as part of the Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) research programme (see: https://wero.ac.nz/), this study examines how racial discrimination operates in recruitment and career progression within the engineering sector. The research was carried out with the support of Engineering New Zealand | Te Ao Rangahau and the Association of Consulting and Engineering New Zealand. 

This research involves two phases of in-depth interviews. The first phase entails interviews with industry key informants such as human resources staff, managers, or people from diversity and culture teams for different engineering firms that ranged from very small to large in size. In the second phase, currently employed engineers from different ethnic groups were undertaken, including Māori, Pacific, Pākehā, Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA). The findings from these two sets of interviews are presented respectively in Section 3 and 4. 

The research also included an analysis of the workforce composition and wage gaps in Engineering based on analysis of Census and New Zealand Income Survey data. This analysis, which is presented in Section 1, revealed the disproportionately low number of female engineers, and of Māori and Pacific people employed as engineers. Analysis of average median hourly wages revealed notable differences, with Māori and Pacific engineers having median wages that are around 80% of the overall median. 

There has been a significant emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in recruitment and human resource management in Engineering in recent years. This emphasis reflects industry efforts to address known ethnic and gender imbalances in the workforce. Industry informants, however, highlighted several challenges, tensions, and contradictions they faced in integrating and practicing DEI in recruitment. Employers often struggle to balance competing frameworks such as equity, meritocracy, and people-focused approaches, making recruitment decisions complex. Despite initiatives like blind CV screening, targeted graduate programmes and preferential shortlisting of Māori and Pacific applicants, the industry remains heavily merit-driven. Additionally, DEI efforts are largely gender-focused, lacking an intersectional approach that considers overlapping social inequities. 

The interviews with engineers revealed that individuals from different ethnic groups face distinct barriers and challenges in securing employment and advancing their careers. For Māori and Pacific engineers, the pathway into engineering is severely limited, with only a small number entering the profession each year. Those currently employed often experience what has been described V as a ‘cultural tax’—being expected to take on cultural responsibilities in addition to their technical roles, without monetary compensation or clear career advancement opportunities. Racialised immigrant engineers, on the contrary, reported devaluation and deskilling of their qualifications and experience based on their ethnic and national origins. Despite extensive work experience in their home countries, they were often required to restart their careers in graduate or entry-level positions. Several participants shared experiences of unfair promotions, where White, European, and Anglophone employees were favoured for leadership roles. When discussing their own career trajectories, most non-Pākehā and nonEuropean participants expressed scepticism about ever being promoted to senior positions with decision-making authority. 

The accounts of discriminations and racial inequalities shared by engineers have profound implications for their employment, career progression, well-being, and society at large. Navigating a predominantly monocultural work environment—marked by challenges like cultural taxation, glass ceilings, and the ‘white boys’ club’—places additional burdens on racialised groups. The pressure to constantly prove their worth further exacerbates these issues, leading to serious retention problems. If not addressed, the sector risks losing engineers from diverse ethnic backgrounds, exacerbating gender and ethnic pay gaps, worsening representation and diversity issues, and reinforcing systemic racial inequities. 

Addressing monoculturalism and the ‘white boys’ club’ culture and fostering a genuinely inclusive profession will require systemic changes within engineering firms and in accepted norms in the profession and industry. Without a shift in workplace culture, efforts to recruit more engineers from underrepresented backgrounds will remain ineffective, as many will continue to leave due to unwelcoming environments. To create lasting change, DEI initiatives must go beyond recruitment and actively reshape the structures, policies, and day-today practices that define the industry. This requires the mindful integration of diverse cultural values and practices into every layer of organisational functions, including recruitment, career advancement frameworks, and job descriptions.

year: 2025