Migracijske i etničke teme (Jun 2007)
Integration Processes of Migrants: Research Findings and Policy Challenges
Abstract
This contribution discusses the integration processes of immigrants and minorities with a recent immigrant background, and the policies related to the process of settlement of these newcomers in European societies at all relevant levels: from the local level of municipalities and cities, to the national level of states, and the international level of the European Union. Within this general approach, however, a strong emphasis is put on the local level, since that is the level where such policies have to be implemented and are primarily felt, both by the immigrants themselves and by those parts of society that are most affected by immigration. To describe the current state of integration research and policies, this paper will explore in the first section the nature of integration processes, their conceptualisation and lessons from empirical studies. The reason for devoting some space to these topics is the assertion that any integration policy should be based on a thorough, scientifically-based knowledge of the processes of integration and exclusion: if a policy wants to steer such a process, it should have a clear idea of what instruments it can use possibly to intervene, in which part of the process, and at what particular moment. Such knowledge is a solid starting point for policy-making, but it is not enough. Processes of policy-making and implementation follow their own set course, which do not necessarily run parallel to the process of integration. That is why, in the following section, the author attempts to explain some of these processes. At the end of this paper he returns to the core questions of immigration and integration policies on the one hand, and the relationship between local, national and international integration policies on the other.
