Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
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Highlights
Transatlantic societies lack a new organizing principle for community cohesion as migration-driven diversity strains national identity and fuels multiculturalism backlash.
- Large-scale migration has transformed communities across North America and Europe, prompting public fears over national identity and cultural conformity.
- While consensus is emerging on what has not worked in immigrant integration, little attention has been given to developing a new organizing principle for community cohesion that harnesses the potential of diversity.
- The book argues that the next generation of policies must smooth divisions between immigration's "winners and losers," blunt extremism, and respond to changing community and national identities on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Drawing on lessons from North America and Europe, the book offers recommendations for building inclusive societies that bring immigrants and natives together in pursuit of shared futures on equal footing.
In countries across the Atlantic, large-scale migration has brought about unprecedented levels of diversity, transforming communities in fundamental ways, while realigning closely held notions of national identity and belonging. This shift has recently coincided with significant challenges and public fears brought on by the economic downturn and ensuing Great Recession, which has caused enormous anxiety and the need to hold tight to identity, language, culture, and values. In response, many state have advanced cultural conformity and narrowed the rights of migrants to residence and citizenship, isolating and in some cases penalizing those who fall outside country norms.
Amid the resulting immigration backlash and criticism of "multiculturalism," the need is greater than ever to reinforce the bonds that tie communities together. Yet while consensus is emerging on failed policies or what has not worked well in the arena of immigrant integration, there is sparse policy or even discussion for developing a new organizing principle for community cohesion that harnesses the potential of society's diversity. This vision must mitigate the disorienting effects of rapid social change tied to migration and smooth divisions between immigration’s “winners and losers,” blunt extremism, and respond smartly to changing community and national identities.
In Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration, the sixth volume of MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration, these issues are examined as the authors uplift the lessons that can be drawn from various approaches to immigrant integration and managing diversity in North America and Europe. The volume delivers recommendations on what policymakers must do to build and reinforce inclusiveness given the realities on each side of the Atlantic. Through promoting key recommendations for fostering greater cohesiveness, the book offers insights into the next generation of policies that can (re)build inclusive societies and bring immigrants and natives together in pursuit of shared futures on equal footing.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Jörg Dräger
Section I: The Transatlantic Council on Migration
Council Statement: Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Jörg Dräger
Section II: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times
Multiculturalism: Success, Failure and the Future
Will Kymlicka
The Relationship between Immigration and Extremism in Europe and North America
Cas Mudde
Governance of Cultural Diversity: Trends, Challenges and Ways Ahead
Christian Joppke
Section III: Country Perspectives
Understanding “Canadian Exceptionalism” around Immigration and Pluralism Policy
Irene Bloemraad
French National Identity and Integration: Sense of Belonging and Rejection from the National Community
Patrick Simon
Contested Ground: Immigration in the United States
Michael Jones-Correa
Identity and (Muslim) Immigration in Germany
Naika Foroutan
The Netherlands: From National Identity to Plural Identifications
Monique Kremer
UK Immigrant Integration Policy: Cause and Effect
Shamit Saggar and Will Somerville
Exceptional in Europe? Spain’s Experience with Immigration and Integration
Joaquin Arango
Immigration and National Identity in Norway
Thomas Hylland Eriksen
About the Global Program
The Global Program bridges policy advice, research, and candid dialogue to design effective migration policies, drawing on global evidence and anticipating the forces reshaping how people move.
About the Transatlantic Council on Migration
Through rigorous research, high-level convenings, and tailored policy advice, the Council provides policymakers with essential analysis and cutting-edge policy recommendations to help tackle the most vexing policy questions.
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