‘I want to participate.’ transition experiences of new refugees in Glasgow

Introduction: rethinking integration. New perspectives on adaptation and settlement in the era of super-diversity

“…The papers address some of the challenges outlined above and in so doing mark the beginning of a shift in thinking about how we might research and conceptualise integration in an era of super-diversity (Buhr 2017;Phillimore, Humphris, and Khan 2017;Strang, Baillot, and Mignard 2017). The papers offer alternative concepts and approaches of differentiated embedding (Ryan 2017) or anchoring (Grzymala-Kazlowska 2017) while critically considering issues of social relations and settlement in the context of socio-cultural and legal super-diversity (Meissner 2017), length of time and cultural skills and competencies (Wessendorf 2017) and transnationalism (Wagner 2017).…”

“…The authors show how despite refugees' strong preference for independence and autonomy -aspects of integration that are rarely discussed, refugees' efforts to integrate are thwarted by state imposed destitution and homelessness which left respondents powerless and dependent. Strang, Baillot, and Mignard (2017) clearly indicate how, regardless of migrants' aspirations they face poverty and exclusion coupled with disruptions in social networks and experiences of discrimination and racism that can be antiintegrative. The experiences of refugees in this paper show that integration can reverse as well as progress and that transitions from temporary residence (as asylum seekers) to mandated refugee with more permanent residence shape integration experiences disrupting lives and introducing new uncertainties.…”

“…Focusing upon transition experiences of new refugees in Glasgow, Strang, Baillot, and Mignard (2017) explore the interaction of structure and agency in refugees' lived experience of integration. They draw upon data generated through longitudinal analysis of the integration experiences of refugees using the Scottish Refugee Council's 'Holistic Integration Service'.…”

“…There are different ways in which integration may be re-examined in the context of super-diversity. Firstly, new ways of conceptualising integration can be offered such as holistic integration (Strang, Baillot, and Mignard 2017) or reciprocal integration (Phillimore, Humphris, and Khan 2017) which offer opportunities to consider interactive aspects of integration. Secondly, alternative perspectives on adaptation and settlement may be discussed such as Wessendorf's (2017) focus on the interaction between legal status, skills and competencies, attachment theory (Grzymala-Moszczynska and Trabka 2014; van Ecke 2005), embedding (Phillimore 2015;Ryan 2017;Ryan and Mulholland 2015) or social anchoring (Grzymala-Kazlowska 2017).…”

Legal status diversity: regulating to control and everyday contingencies

“…A case in point is the analysis presented by Strang, Baillot, and Mignard (2017). They show that in relation to refugee migration to Glasgow, changes pertaining to the specific channel and its sub-tracks would hardly surface without highlighting those within category differences.…”