Revisiting Some Assumptions Linked to Integration Policies: Identity and Participation Before European Refugee Crisis of 2015

Abstract

Integration policies are underpinned upon assumptions that are taken for granted but that condition both the causal diagnosis and the lines of action and programs devised to respond to social challenges associated with migration and refugees movements. The so-called “European refugees crisis” of 2015 is an example of how preconceived ideas affect the analysis of social problems and the design of solutions. This crisis is the context within which the paper, first, examines the root causes of the “problem”; then, explores the notions of identity and participation and the implications they had for policy; and, finally, studies two cases of relative integration success where different assumptions inform different programs and strategies.