Diversity and the Complexities of Ethnic Integration in the UK: Guest Editors' Introduction

Ethnic integration in a diverse society is a complex issue and is difficult to measure, conceptualise and interpret. Debates about integration are often made with reference to social cohesion, ethnic concentration, migration, multiculturalism and mixing; these terms are continually debated and re-interpreted, in both academic and policy discourses. The four papers in this special issue challenge our understandings of ethnic integration and associated concepts by demonstrating the value of examining 'missing' dimensions of integration, namely, the meaning of space and place, ordinariness, religion and language; by illustrating the dynamic nature of integration and its meaning; and by showing how the study of integration demands varied and innovative research methods.