Superdiversity in Settler Societies

Abstract Superdiversity has been critiqued by some as being too wedded to elements of modernity and universality, and too little to decoloniality. This chapter acknowledges this critique and explores the options and key elements with regard to a particular group of settler societies—Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. All three have seen a diversification of domestic diversity as a result of managed migration policy frameworks, but this diversification of diversity is complicated by ongoing processes of colonization and the marginalization of indigenous communities and nations. If superdiversity is to have utility and to continue to address the criticisms arising from those concerned with decoloniality, then conceptualizations of it need to address the role and influence of indigeneity, including the coproduction of conceptual frameworks and policy options with indigenous scholars and communities; the nature and influence of “White” hegemonic groups; and the particular nature of highly structured and managed systems of immigrant recruitment in order to recognize and address the intersection of this diversity with structural inequalities and to retain a critical approach to diversity management policies. This chapter explores the elements that are central to a decolonial superdiversity in the context of certain settler societies.