Social network development experiences of immigrants from Turkey to Canada

Limits of Social Capital for Refugee Integration: The Case of Gay Iranian Male Refugees' Integration in Canada

“…In case of racialized LGBT refugees, this convertibility and the reproductive logic between various forms of capital indicate that refugees who have experienced loss and devaluation of their capital reservoirs will have to adapt their practices to their new environment, to those groups who hold power positions and social distinction, so to re-evaluate and accumulate capital (Kelly and Lusis, 2006;Thieme, 2008;Bauder, 2008;Akkaymak, 2016). To understand such process of social capital accumulation it is important to account for individuals' reservoir of capital, their ability to build new ties to access other resources, group power dynamics, and the fact that various forms of capital are ultimately converted into and reproduce, or lack thereof, other forms of capital that, depending on the contexts, will support individuals' integration.…”

“…In sum, my participants' access to bridging social capital is regulated by Iranian immigrant groups' patriarchal cultural norms and this, in turn, limits their participation in capital accumulation. Further, gay Iranians' bridging social capital engendered in their networks with White, nonco-ethnics has an ambivalent status (see Akkaymak, 2016 on Turkish immigrants in Canada), in that it facilitates gay Iranians' access to jobs, i.e., economic capital, in the secondary and tertiary job market, but it does not allow for their access to the jobs or forms of cultural capital that might translate into climbing up to and attaining positions of power.…”

“…In sum, the first group of scholars understands ethnic ties as automatically translating into social capital while the second group assumes social actors' benevolence and ignores the realities of power dynamics in society (see also Akkaymak, 2016). Both lines of argument neglect individual agency, power relations within (ethnic) groups, and the embeddedness of structures and the role of destination society, all of which regulate individuals' access to capital, power, and social distinction (Palmgren, 2017).…”

“…To this end, after presenting some critique on communitarian approaches to social captial, I draw on Bourdieusian theory and his understanding of social capital, i.e., access to durable networks (Bourdieu, 1986), to present a path forward. The Bourdieusian approach emphasizes the convertibility logic between various forms of capital necessary for refugees' successful integration, and addresses the limits of conventional theories on social capital regarding individual agency, power relations, and social policies vis-a-vis inequalities (Woolcock, 1998;Cheong et al, 2007;Akkaymak, 2016). Along the same lines, I understand integration as a multi-dimensional two-way process that starts before emigration, is shaped by various reservoirs of capital, and is informed by a desire for social belonging in destination countries (Karimi, 2018).…”

Immigrant perceptions of integration in the Canadian workplace

“…However, while at the policy level cultural diversity is respected and integration is recognized as a two-way process, in practice, immigrants are often expected to adapt their behavior, values, beliefs (in other words, their cultural capital) while native-born individuals do not feel any responsibility in the integration process (Malik and Manroop, 2017). As a result, immigrants experience a slow form of assimilation as opposed to integration (Akkaymak, 2016). Li (2003) argues that the integration policy in Canada implies that immigrants should accept "prevailing practice and standard and become similar to the resident population" (p. 315).…”