Social Cohesion & Identity

Large-scale immigration has led to unprecedented levels of diversity and rapid demographic change, transforming communities across major immigrant-receiving countries in fundamental ways and challenging closely held notions of national identity, particularly in an era of economic uncertainty. The research here focuses on what policymakers can do to mitigate the destabilizing effects of rapid societal change — especially changes tied or perceived to be tied to immigration — in order to create stronger and more cohesive societies.

Recent Activity

Reports February 2018 Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion By Aliyyah Ahad and Meghan Benton	Reports February 2018 Designing Civic Education for Diverse Societies: Models, Tradeoffs, and Outcomes By Per Mouritsen and Astrid Jaeger
Articles January 17, 2018 Amid Record Numbers of Arrivals, Chile Turns Rightward on Immigration By Cristián Doña Reveco	Multimedia November 16, 2017 Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: Maintaining Momentum and Creating Lasting Change
Articles December 8, 2017 Nativism Goes Mainstream, Moving the Needle on Migration Policy By Marissa Esthimer	Reports November 2017 Safe or Sorry? Prospects for Britons in the European Union after Brexit By Meghan Benton
Articles November 1, 2017 Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration By Andrew Griffith	Policy Briefs September 2017 Engaging Communities in Refugee Protection: The Potential of Private Sponsorship in Europe By Susan Fratzke

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Reports October 2009 The Evolution of German Media Coverage of Migration By Gualtiero Zambonini	Reports October 2009 Political Rhetoric in the Netherlands: Reframing Crises in the Media By Maarten Hajer and Wytske Versteeg
Reports October 2009 The Media and Migration in the United Kingdom, 1999 to 2009 By Terry Threadgold	Reports October 2009 British Attitudes to Immigration in the 21 st Century By Ben Page
Reports October 2009 Promoting Stalemate: The Media and U.S. Policy on Migration By Roberto Suro	Reports October 2009 The Politics of Immigration, and the (Limited) Case for New Optimism: Perspectives from a Political Pollster By Jeremy D. Rosner
Reports October 2009 German Public Opinion on Immigration and Integration By Oya S. Abali	Reports October 2009 Immigrating from Facts to Values: Political Rhetoric in the U.S. Immigration Debate By Drew Westen

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Policy Beat

October 15, 2015

Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States

Signed into law 50 years ago, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had several unintended consequences that have had a profound effect on the flow of immigrants to the United States and contributed to the transformation of the U.S. demographic profile. This Policy Beat explores the law's lasting impact and lessons for policymaking today.

Feature

October 7, 2015

Open Wallet, Closed Doors: Exploring Japan’s Low Acceptance of Asylum Seekers

Japan is one of the world's most generous contributors to humanitarian appeals, yet accepts a very small number of asylum seekers—indeed only 11 were granted refugee status in 2014. Even as Japan has witnessed a record number of asylum applications, the approval rate has declined. This feature explores Japan's low acceptance of asylum seekers, including institutional barriers and negative public perceptions.

Feature

July 29, 2015

Americans Abroad: A Disillusioned Diaspora?

While many countries are increasing engagement with their diasporas, U.S. policy has chiefly focused on U.S.-based diasporas from other countries, despite its own estimated overseas population of 7.6 million. This feature explores results from a survey of more than 1,400 U.S. citizens and 140 former citizens living abroad, many of whom are critical of limited U.S. government engagement with them even as restrictive financial reporting regulations have been imposed.

Feature

June 10, 2015

Integration Key to Combating Radicalization: A Q&A with Solveig Horne, Norwegian Minister of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion

With rising inflows of humanitarian and economic migrants, Norway faces a series of integration challenges. In conversation with the Migration Information Source, Solveig Horne, Norway's Minister of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion discusses her work on integration policy, from the importance of language training and a feeling of belonging, to the protection of immigrant women and resettlement of asylum seekers.

Feature

April 2, 2015

Assessing the Political Impact of Immigration as the United Kingdom Heads to the Polls

The United Kingdom has faced changing immigration patterns over the last two decades driven largely by EU migration, and political upheaval caused by the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party and the Scottish National Party. Upcoming general elections in May 2015 will have a significant impact not only on immigration policies but the United Kingdom's place in the European Union.

Recent Activity

Reports

February 2018

Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion

Rising numbers of young immigrants and refugees entering European schools following the 2015–16 migration crisis strained system capacity and injected new urgency into debates about how to support diverse learners and their families. This report examines the challenges facing European education systems and identifies key lessons to improve migrant inclusion in schools and integration more broadly.

Reports

February 2018

Designing Civic Education for Diverse Societies: Models, Tradeoffs, and Outcomes

Across Europe, civic education programs are being asked to solve a range of social challenges—from dwindling political participation to the protection of immigrant and refugee youth from alienation and radicalization. While these challenges are shared across countries, the programs designed to address them vary considerably. This report explores differing models in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Articles

January 17, 2018

Amid Record Numbers of Arrivals, Chile Turns Rightward on Immigration

Chile's immigrant population has more than quadrupled since the country emerged from dictatorship in the early 1990s. As immigration has grown and moved away from its European roots to become more diverse, it has emerged as a hot-button political issue, complicating longstanding efforts to reform the country's 1975 immigration law. This article explores Chile's shift to the right on immigration, and how policies might evolve under the presidency of conservative Sebastián Piñera.

Audio

November 16, 2017

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: Maintaining Momentum and Creating Lasting Change

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many nontraditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—pioneered solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. This conference reflects on how innovations for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change.

Articles

December 8, 2017

Nativism Goes Mainstream, Moving the Needle on Migration Policy

In 2017, nationalists in Europe and the United States continued seizing on public concerns about immigration and diversity, making gains in pushing their agendas. While their success at the polls was mixed, nativist politicians have succeeded in reshaping broader migration debates, with growing political fragmentation and mistrust of establishment parties making it easier for them to break through.

Reports

November 2017

Safe or Sorry? Prospects for Britons in the European Union after Brexit

Amid ongoing Brexit negotiations, much remains uncertain for the roughly 1 million UK citizens living elsewhere in the European Union. This report offers a demographic profile of these Brexpats, considering what form an EU-UK deal on citizens’ rights might take and identifying key challenges many Britons are likely to face—including difficulty securing legal status and accessing labor markets, social security, and health-care systems.

Articles

November 1, 2017

Building a Mosaic: The Evolution of Canada’s Approach to Immigrant Integration

Even as the United States and countries in Europe have made a right turn on immigration in recent years, Canada has remained a largely welcoming country. Underlying this resilience is an approach to immigration focused on active management and refinement of policies as well as long-term economic, social, and political integration, as this article explores.

Policy Briefs

September 2017

Engaging Communities in Refugee Protection: The Potential of Private Sponsorship in Europe

Across Europe, grassroots efforts have emerged in the wake of crisis that draw members of the public into the process of receiving refugees and supporting their integration. This policy brief examines the many forms community-based or private sponsorship can take, what benefits such approaches may hold for European communities, and the tradeoffs policymakers face in their implementation.

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