(Page 3 of 16) - Having a Say: Inclusion in Policy-Making and Network Embeddedness of Immigrants’ Associations in Madrid, Spain authored by Morales, Laura. and Ramiro, Luis.

intermediaries between the elites and the migrant groups.

Attending meetings at the

local council, joining stable committees that debate policy decisions, and participating
in ‘crisis’ teams to solve episodes of social conflict are some of the forms in which the
associations of migrants can exert a continued impact on local politics.

At the very least, regardless of the citizenship or incorporation model, the migrant
communities that are more likely to engage in such activities through their own
organisations will be in a better position to further their interests and well-being. In
this sense, having a say is the very first step to being able to shape policy outcomes.
But voice and access are not equally distributed among social groups, nor – for that
matter – among civil society organisations. Some associations actively engage in
public affairs, while others refrain from politics; and even among those interested in
lobbying and advocacy, some are able to build political coalitions that grant them
access to policy making, while others remain marginalised.

What helps migrants’ organisations have a say in policy making? What resources –
economic, human, and social – contribute to their capacity to influence decision-
making processes? This paper emphasises the role of social networks – or social
capital – in advancing the empowerment of migrants’ organisations in the city of
Madrid (Spain). Social capital – in the form of links with other migrant organisations,
ties with mainstream political and advocacy organisations, and contacts with political
parties and politicians – is crucial to enhance the ability of migrant organisations to
have a say in the policy process. And, as we will show, social capital turns out to be
even more determining than economic and human capital as resources for policy
inclusion. Unlike the contention of resource mobilization theory (McCarthy and Zald
1977), and of past research on the political economy of associations (see Knoke
1990), financial and bureaucratic resources are not the main drivers of access to the
policy domain for migrant organisations in Madrid.

The article preliminary contends that in contexts – such as the migration policy
domain in Spain – where the policy process is characterised by the lack of clear
procedures, structures and practices of social consultation and intermediation, social
capital will emerge as the most relevant form of capital for policy inclusion. Rather
than relying on vast financial resources or highly skilled human resources,
organisations can rely more on building contacts, centrality, visibility, and ‘prestige’.
Their ties to a wide range of organisations and actors will render them ‘relevant’ to
the eyes of policy makers, who have not devised more formal mechanisms or
practices of interest intermediation.

In this sense, the case of the policy inclusion of migrants’ organisations in Madrid
illustrates those situations in which a policy field is in the making. Substantial flows
of immmigration to the city of Madrid are a relatively recent phenomenon, as it is the
case for Spain generally. Madrid has become one of the major immigration magnets
in Spain and in Europe during the last decade, and especially for Latin-Americans of
Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Perú). High rates of economic
growth have attracted a large number of immigrants – mostly economic/labour
migrants, although family reunification is already a major driver as well – and has

See Knoke and Laumann (1982) and Knoke (1990) for a general discusion of the role of associations

and interest groups in the policy domains.