Annual theme: 2024 – 2025: Beyond Integration: towards equity and belonging

Integration, as a concept, is still the dominant paradigm in public policy and academic research surrounding migration, diversity, and social cohesion. However, critical reflection on the notion of immigrant integration has expanded, highlighting significant shortcomings of research conducted within this framework. CESSMIR’s annual theme aims to give a platform to such critical research, as well as to theoretical reflections and empirical work proposing alternative approaches to studying the multidimensional nature of migrant and refugee experiences and the systemic inequalities they face.

Most problematically for critics (Phillimore 2021; Rytter 2019; Schinkel 2018) integration has become a matter of individual responsibility, a property of individuals instead of societies, which is aligned with the neo-liberalization of immigration policies. At the same time, through a de- individualizing maneuver, the causes of failure to integrate are attributed to the group to which the individual is considered to belong. Statistical categories dividing individuals into ‘ethnic’, ‘racial’, ‘migrant-origin’ groups are partly instrumental in this approach. They enable the monitoring of immigrant integration that can be seen as a neocolonial form of knowledge and dominance. Especially since native, white citizens are dispensed of integration and considered to already make up society.

Critiques are less clear on the alternative conceptual frameworks that may help researchers overcome this impasse. ‘Super-diversity’ (Vertovec 2019) aims to challenge simplistic notions of cultural homogeneity and instead emphasize the fluid and intersecting nature of identities and experiences within increasingly diverse settings. Somewhat similarly, the concept of ‘belonging’ (Yuval-Davis 2011) has also been proposed as an alternative to “integration”, arguing for a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of social cohesion, and on the importance of feelings of attachment and identification. To what extent, however, are these alternatives able to study the structural inequalities and discrimination (Korteweg 2017) that may hinder certain groups from fully participating and belonging to society? Super-diversity research has been criticized for obscuring the racism and domination that precede this ‘diversity’. In their turn, approaches focusing on belonging have been criticized for being difficult to operationalize and measure in empirical research, and for overlooking inequities in socio- economic opportunities.

In selecting this topic as annual theme in 2024-2025, CESSMIR will stimulate research and debate on the limitations of immigrant integration research and on alternative approaches that overcome these shortcomings, while remaining empirically rich. CESSMIR’s interdisciplinary approach and focus on practice, policy and research invites discussion on a broad range of issues related to this theme. These issues will be explored in a variety of activities, including the Migration Research in Practice day, master classes and lectures by international experts.