Is an Inclusive Identity Always a Sign of Integration of All? the Case of the Branding of Identity in Switzerland

In Switzerland, popular votes on matters of social cohesion, "living together" and good practices of integration show the contested nature of the integration policy, the general trend being an increasing demand of cultural assimilation and acculturation by immigrants. Nonetheless, there is also a more inclusive discourse on identity and integration that is progressively taking place, diffused by cities and municipalities which, by branding, produce a discourse about "living together" as a (promotional) shared identity. Contrary to the former discourse on integration, the latter does not present itself as an instrument of normalization, but as an inclusive identity open to diversity. Moreover, it is more suited to address the increasing mobility of individuals.

I will reconstruct the discursive logics underlying these two conceptions of integration and identify which individuals are targeted by these policies and how they are represented in the discourses. I suggest that contrary to its inclusive aims, the identity promoted by branding risks to strengthen the adaptive logic of integration for the immigrants / mobile individuals who do not fulfil the symbolic and material expectations of the collective identity promoted by the branding. I argue that promoting identity using branding strategies indirectly establishes a top-down logic which results in the invisibilization of groups that are marked by a dual strangeness: first, in regard to the Swiss population, who represent the implicit standard of integration; second, in regard to the immigrants / mobile people who are positively valued as assets / resources for territorial collectivities or cities.