Immigration and Social Solidarity in a Time of Welfare State Crisis

A cloud has settled over the immigration regimes of the European welfare states as well as the United States. Anxieties generated by the apparent loss of sovereignty and decline of social solidarity and trust have destabilized previous advances and opened the doors to anti-liberal populist politics.  Confidence in the ability to integrate and in the value of integrating newcomers into a system of legal and social solidarity has waned. The weakening of both liberal civic nationalism and secular constitutional patriotism has unsettled national identities and undermined legal reforms intended to facilitate the inclusion of immigrants. The road ahead will be very difficult for both the welfare state and immigrants. More forceful integration policies might be better for sustaining the welfare state, but individual liberties and group recognition make this more difficult. Ironically perhaps, immigrants may now fare better in the more unjust neo-liberal societies such as the US than in the advanced welfare states. This essay looks at Germany and the US in particular to assess the current situation and the dilemmas that liberal policies and polities now face.