About

This project examined how the communities refugees settle in, shape their political integration.

The main goal of this study was to isolate the influence of the local social and political context of reception, measured as the city and neighborhood where refugees arrived and settled in, from individual and group characteristics on immigrant integration outcomes such as occupational inclusion, political integration (support for democracy, attachment to the receiving country) and overall well-being.

We argue that the interactions immigrants and refugees have with the receiving society and country’s institutions on a regular basis during the first years after arrival are what shapes important socioeconomic and political integration trajectories.

We were able to isolate the effects of the local context from individual and group characteristics by studying Syrian refugees who were quasi randomly ressettled by UNHCR in multiple localities in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ireland,European cities and intervieweing them shortly after arrival and four years later.

This design helped distinguish the influence of refugees’ pre-migration experiences from the effects of the attitudes they encountered after arrival.

One of the main findings in the study is that higher levels of anti-Muslim prejudice in local communities were linked to weaker attachment of refugees to their receiving country, less trust in democratic institutions, and lower support for democracy.

Also, we find that funds allocated by countries and cities for refugees are not the main predictor of overall integration.

Well thought out policies and local society involvement in the program resulted in better outcomes, especially in terms of political integration and belonging.

The findings are in line what migration scholars theorize that integration is a two-way process: helping refugees build a life in a new country matters, but so does creating communities where they can feel accepted and develop a genuine sense of belonging.