The civic turn of immigrant integration policies in the Scandinavian welfare states

This special issue addresses the question of how to understand the civic turn within immigrant integration in the West towards programs and instruments, public discourses and political intentions, which aim to condition, incentivize, and shape through socialization immigrants into ‘citizens’. Empirically, it focuses on the less studied Scandinavian cases of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. In this introduction, we situate the contributions to this special issue within the overall debate on civic integration and convergence. We introduce the three cases, critically discuss the (liberal) convergence thesis and its descriptive and explanatory claims, and explain why studying the Scandinavian welfare states can further our understanding of the nature of the civic turn and its driving forces. Before concluding, we discuss whether civic integration policies actually work

Examining 'postmulticultural' and civic turns in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, and Denmark

There is a widely shared view that the appeal of multiculturalism as a public policy has suffered considerable political damage. In many European states the turn to “civic” measures and discourses has been deemed more suitable for the objectives of minority integration and the promotion of preferred modes of social and political unity. It is therefore said that the first decade of the new century has been characterized by a reorientation in immigrant integration policies—from liberal culturalist to the “return of assimilation” (Brubaker, 2001), on route to a broader “retreat from multiculturalism” (Joppke, 2004). In this article, we argue that such portrayals mask a tendency that is more complicated in some cases and much less evident in others. To elaborate this, we offer a detailed account of the inception and then alleged movement away from positions in favor of multiculturalism in two countries that have adopted different versions of it, namely the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and two countries that have historically rejected multiculturalism, namely Denmark and Germany. We argue that while there is undoubtedly a rhetorical separation between multiculturalism and civic integration, the latter is in some cases building on the former, and broadly needs to be understood as more than a retreat of multiculturalism. Taking seriously Banting and Kymlicka’s argument that understanding the evolution of integration requires the “the mind-set of an archaeologist,” we offer a policy genealogy that allows us to set the backlash against multiculturalism in context, in manner that explicates its provenance, permutations, and implications

The Welfare State in a Multicultural Society

The theoretical point of departure in this dissertation proposes that the liberal welfare state includes a fundamental logic of integration, viewing the attainment of social equality between different categories in society as a main condition for social integration. But how can this logic of integration be applied to a multicultural society? Is trying to achieve equal access to certain socio-economic standards sufficient, or does cultural diversity call for other measures in order to fulfill the aim of equality and integration? In this study it is argued that the liberal welfare state in a multicultural society is confronted with three tensions. Firstly there is a tension between the welfare state’s aim to promote equality and freedom for the individual and at the same time to fulfill certain collective interests and goals. Secondly there is a tension between on the one hand the aim to promote integration within the community of citizens – demos – and on the other hand to tolerate (or even to actively promote) the fact that citizens also enjoy membership in different ethnic communities – ethnos. Thirdly there is a tension between a policy strategy that is general in the sense that all citizens are in principle involved as recipients, and a policy strategy that is targeted as it identifies only members of a certain category of the population as its recipients. These three tensions are used as Weberian ideal types in analyzing the Swedish discourse about policies targeted towards immigrants over a period of 30 years. The study includes an analysis of the discourse within four separate policy areas: the general policy towards immigrants, policies towards immigrants’ voluntary associations, educational policies and housing policies. The empirical results show that, over time, the discourse has moved from a multicultural policy towards a position of civic assimilation

The Welfare State in a Multicultural Society

The theoretical point of departure in this dissertation proposes that the liberal welfare state includes a fundamental logic of integration, viewing the attainment of social equality between different categories in society as a main condition for social integration. But how can this logic of integration be applied to a multicultural society? Is trying to achieve equal access to certain socio-economic standards sufficient, or does cultural diversity call for other measures in order to fulfill the aim of equality and integration? In this study it is argued that the liberal welfare state in a multicultural society is confronted with three tensions. Firstly there is a tension between the welfare state’s aim to promote equality and freedom for the individual and at the same time to fulfill certain collective interests and goals. Secondly there is a tension between on the one hand the aim to promote integration within the community of citizens – demos – and on the other hand to tolerate (or even to actively promote) the fact that citizens also enjoy membership in different ethnic communities – ethnos. Thirdly there is a tension between a policy strategy that is general in the sense that all citizens are in principle involved as recipients, and a policy strategy that is targeted as it identifies only members of a certain category of the population as its recipients. These three tensions are used as Weberian ideal types in analyzing the Swedish discourse about policies targeted towards immigrants over a period of 30 years. The study includes an analysis of the discourse within four separate policy areas: the general policy towards immigrants, policies towards immigrants’ voluntary associations, educational policies and housing policies. The empirical results show that, over time, the discourse has moved from a multicultural policy towards a position of civic assimilation

Svensk invandrarpolitik under (om)formulering

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Medborgarundersökningen 2002-2003

Citizen survey 2002-2003 (MBU02-03) is a follow up to citizen surveys conducted in 1987 and 1997 (SND 0474, SND 0796). The studies will examine the opportunities for citizens to influence their own situation and to participate in social decision-making. The study was conducted in the fall of 2002 to spring of 2003, led by researchers at the Department of Government, Uppsala University. Fieldwork was conducted by Statistics Sweden. The study is funded by the Integration Political Power Investigation and the project Mechanisms of Democracy. The data is based mainly on interviews. Selection is based on about 2,000 individuals residing in Sweden and has a response rate of 59.5 percent (slightly lower than the previous years' surveys). Data is available at the German Data Archive GESIS. Purpose: Aims to study the ability of citizens to influence their own situation and to participate in social decision-making.Medborgarundersökningen 2002-2003 (MBU02-03) är en uppföljning av de medborgarundersökningar som genomfördes 1987 och 1997 (SND 0474, SND 0796) . Undersökningarna syftar till att studera medborgarnas möjligheter till att påverka sin egen situation samt att delta i det samhälleliga beslutsfattandet. Studien genomfördes under hösten 2002 till och med våren 2003, under ledning av forskare vid Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Uppsala universitet. Fältarbetet genomfördes av Statistiska centralbyrån. Undersökningen är finansierad av Integrationspolitiska maktutredningen och projektet Demokratins mekanismer. Datamaterialet består främst av intervjuer, i första hand genom besök i den intervjuades hem. Urvalet baseras på ungefär 2000 individer bosatta i Sverige och har en svarsfrekvens på 59,5 procent (något lägre än tidigare års undersökningar). Data finns att beställa hos det tyska dataarkivet GESIS. Länk finns längre ner i katalogposten. Syfte: Syftar till att studera medborgarnas möjligheter att påverka sin egen situation samt att delta i det samhälleliga beslutsfattandet

‘No Children, No Value’ : Descriptions of Legal Status and Health Among Refugeesin Sweden in Light of Immigration Policy Changes

This chapter analyses refugee integration and psychological health in light of the macro-level conditions of post- 2015 policy changes