Immigration and Processes of Systemic and Social Integration

Abstract

David Lockwood highlights the distinction between systemic and social integration. While social integration focuses on variables such as cultural values, traditions, habits, identities, systemic integration operates with the economic, legal and political rules, which assure that the society/community is functioning. Depending on economic and cultural contexts, the systemic integration can complete, determine or frontload the social integration and vice versa. This paper highlights the relationship between the two types of integration and how it accompanies the historical trajectory of migration processes.

Keywords

• systemic integration
• social integration
• immigration
• rules
• cultural values
• plural societies
• assimilation