Integration Requirements for Integration's Sake? Identifying, Categorising and Comparing Civic Integration Policies

Several countries in Europe have recently adopted obligatory language and country-knowledge requirements for settlement, naturalisation and immigration. Integration tests, courses and contracts are only a few examples of the new 'civic integration policies' states are using to promote indi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethnic and migration studies 2010-05, Vol.36 (5), p.753-772
Main Author: Goodman, Sara Wallace
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autonomy
Citizenship
Civic Integration
Comparative analysis
Comparative studies
Europe
European Union
Immigrants
Immigration
Immigration Policy
Language acquisition
Language Attitudes
Language policy
Membership
Nationality
Naturalization
Newcomers
Policy analysis
Policy making
Policy Reform
Reforms
Rules
Social Integration
Values
Western Europe
Wisdom
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Summary:Several countries in Europe have recently adopted obligatory language and country-knowledge requirements for settlement, naturalisation and immigration. Integration tests, courses and contracts are only a few examples of the new 'civic integration policies' states are using to promote individual autonomy and common values for newcomers. Are these requirements in response to concrete problems of immigrant integration? Do they enable, or actually inhibit, integration? This paper examines the various pressures behind attaching mandatory integration requirements to status acquisition. To systematically examine these policies, I develop a civic integration index (CIVIX) to measure language, country-knowledge and value-commitment requirements across the EU-15. While there is a general shift toward civic requirements across Europe, evidence reveals important differences in the degree of policy change. Finally, I explore how new civic requirements complement or challenge existing citizenship practices, identifying where integration is facilitated and rewarded with citizenship. I also show where civic requirements fill strategic goals, mainly controlling the inflow and impact of immigration. The arguments made here support a critical rethinking of the conventional wisdom about national models of integration and a dynamic understanding of state citizenship strategies, where policies define not only the rules but also the content of national membership.
ISSN:1369-183X
1469-9451
DOI:10.1080/13691831003764300