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

Policy Briefs September 2017 Engaging Communities in Refugee Protection: The Potential of Private Sponsorship in Europe By Susan Fratzke	Articles August 9, 2017 Thinking Outside the Camp: Syrian Refugees in Istanbul By M. Murat Erdoğan
Reports June 2017 In Search of Common Values amid Large-Scale Immigrant Integration Pressures By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Meghan Benton	Articles June 1, 2017 Estonian Citizenship Policy: The Restoration of a Country Leads to Statelessness for Some By David J. Trimbach
Articles May 10, 2017 Strife Abroad, Responses at Home: Muslims in the West and Conflict Spillover By Juris Pupcenoks	Multimedia April 12, 2017 Immigration and its Discontents: European Elections and Future Policy
Commentaries March 2017 The Dutch Elections: How to Lose and Still Shape the Direction of a Country—and Possibly a Continent? By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan	Articles March 16, 2017 Straddling Two Worlds: Highly Skilled Migrants from Senegambia and Switzerland By Haddy Sarr

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Reports October 2009 Immigrating from Facts to Values: Political Rhetoric in the U.S. Immigration Debate By Drew Westen	Reports June 2009 The Social Mobility of Immigrants and Their Children By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville
Reports June 2009 The Second Generation in Europe: Education and the Transition to the Labor Market By Maurice Crul and Jens Schneider	Reports June 2009 Extraordinary Meeting of the Transatlantic Council on Migration By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Reports May 2009 Public Opinion, Media Coverage, and Migration: Developing Strategies for Immigration and Integration Reforms (Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Annette Heuser	Reports January 2009 America's Views of Immigration: The Evidence from Public Opinion Surveys By Roberto Suro
Reports April 2008 The Complexities of Immigration: Why Western Countries Struggle with Immigration Politics and Policies By Jennifer Hochschild and John Mollenkopf	Reports April 2008 A New Citizenship Bargain for the Age of Mobility? Citizenship Requirements in Europe and North America By Randall Hansen

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Feature

February 20, 2015

Following the Money: Chinese Labor Migration to Zambia

Migration has begun to follow the flow of capital after years of Chinese investment in major infrastructure projects in Zambia. This feature article, based on original research including the coding of 25,000 Zambian entry permits, examines the emerging migration pattern from China to Zambia, as Chinese migration to the country has increased 60 percent since 2009.

Feature

September 30, 2014

Belonging: The Resettlement Experiences of Hmong Refugees in Texas and Germany

Drawing on a case study of two Hmong refugee populations from Laos that were resettled in a major Texas city and a German village, this article explores the different approaches to immigrant integration found in the United States and Germany as well as the outcomes for the Hmong and their sense of belonging in their new communities.

Feature

September 4, 2013

Integrating Immigrant Youth: Transatlantic Perspectives

This article examines common challenges and factors influencing the development of local labor-market integration initiatives targeting immigrant youth, based on four city case studies conducted in the United States and the European Union.

Feature

May 10, 2013

Integrating Europe's Muslim Minorities: Public Anxieties, Policy Responses

Muslim integration is one of the most contentious issues in the immigration debate in Europe, and one that gets to the heart of public anxieties about immigration. This article explores public perception toward Muslims in Western Europe and the array of integration policies that countries in the region have adopted during the past several years.

Feature

October 1, 2009

Wedding Bells Are Ringing: Increasing Rates of Intermarriage in Germany

Intermarriage is considered a test of integration: the higher the rate, the more integrated the group. Olga Nottmeyer of DIW Berlin finds that while immigrants from Turkey, by far Germany's largest immigrant group, have had low rates of intermarriage in the first generation, intermarriage rates among second-generation Turkish men are increasing.

Recent Activity

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.

Articles

August 9, 2017

Thinking Outside the Camp: Syrian Refugees in Istanbul

Turkey has been on the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis from the beginning. The vast majority of Turkey's nearly 3.2 million Syrian asylum seekers live in cities, putting pressure on the limited resources and legal authority of local governments to serve them. This article examines Istanbul's creative approaches to meeting the needs of this vulnerable population while balancing the concerns of local citizens.

Reports

June 2017

In Search of Common Values amid Large-Scale Immigrant Integration Pressures

Amid high levels of immigration, the roles of religion, culture, and identity in liberal democratic societies in Europe have come under the microscope. Few have found it easy to identify a core set of shared values and to communicate them evenhandedly to newcomers. Amid clashes over burqas and belonging, this report explores the tradeoffs policymakers face in defining, instilling, and managing disagreement over values.

Articles

June 1, 2017

Estonian Citizenship Policy: The Restoration of a Country Leads to Statelessness for Some

What happens when a country reverts to an earlier citizenship policy? When Estonia did just that after gaining independence in 1991, a new class of stateless residents emerged, comprised of Soviet-era Russian-speaking migrants and their descendants. This article explores the effects of Estonia's post-Soviet citizenship policy on its Russian-speaking population, particularly with regard to political participation and civic engagement.

Articles

May 10, 2017

Strife Abroad, Responses at Home: Muslims in the West and Conflict Spillover

A number of high-profile terrorist attacks in the West have raised questions about why geopolitical events sometimes trigger strong, violent reactions in certain diaspora communities, but not in others. What could be behind this divergence in responses? This article examines how Muslim communities in London and Detroit have reacted to conflict abroad, as well as the factors that drive reactive conflict spillover.

Video, Audio, Webinars

April 12, 2017

Immigration and its Discontents: European Elections and Future Policy

Public anxiety about immigration and the fast pace of social change has reached a boiling point in many parts of Europe, contributing (in part) to the ascent of populist far-right parties. This discussion focuses on how the French election is unfolding, what we can learn from Brexit and the Dutch elections, and what these results portend (if anything) for the next round of political contests in Europe. Experts consider how governments can manage broader public concerns about rapid social change, economic opportunity, and security in ways that can reduce public anxiety over immigration and restore the public's trust.

Commentaries

March 2017

The Dutch Elections: How to Lose and Still Shape the Direction of a Country—and Possibly a Continent?

The failure of Geert Wilders’ right-wing, anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) to become the top vote-getter in the Dutch parliamentary elections is being hailed as proof of the limits of anti-Muslim rhetoric and even the “waning” of the appeal of right-wing populism. But as this commentary explores, a closer reading leads one to a more nuanced interpretation of the results and the recognition that Wilders will remain a major force.

Articles

March 16, 2017

Straddling Two Worlds: Highly Skilled Migrants from Senegambia and Switzerland

In recent years, Switzerland has become a popular destination for highly skilled migrants, including from the Senegambia region of West Africa. Meanwhile, migration also flows the opposite way with Swiss migrants heading to Senegal and The Gambia. This article compares and contrasts the experiences of these migrants at destination as well as their motivations to migrate and attitudes toward remittances and citizenship.

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