The Politics of Immigrant Integration

Immigrant integration has come to the forefront as a policy issue in the last few decades, particularly after events like the terror attacks of 9/11, the subsequent Madrid and London bombings and the Danish cartoons controversy.  These events have also led to an emphasis on immigration and religion, particularly the growth of Islam in Europe. As Muslims have become more defined as a group, rather than as part of their respective nationalities and ethnicities or skin colors, they have become the focus of restrictive immigration policies, punitive integration measures and citizenship tests designed to test for “anti-liberal” values. Another important factor in the more recent politics of integration is the perceived “failure” of integration policy which has been expressed by many European governments, particularly the Netherlands and Sweden, countries which were considered fairly successful in their multicultural approach. As Joppke notes, “Even in states long believed to adhere to articulate and coherent national models of immigrant integration, such as the multicultural Netherlands, and assimilationist France, this sense of failure is strong” (Joppke 2006, 1). Part of this has to do with the rise in Islamic radicalism and violence in Europe, but it also has to do with politics and the rise of radical right parties, which I will examine as an important independent variable influencing the development of more punitive integration policies.  On the other hand, it is important to note the role of antidiscrimination policy as a counter to the rise of the radical right, as in the case of the Racial Equality Directive (RED).  I this paper I will examine the politics of immigrant integration to determine if there are linkages between party politics, legislation and policy outcomes.