The Future of Immigrant Incorporation: Which Models? Which Concepts?

Abstract

"The paper examines the usefulness of various theoretical approaches for understanding the causes and consequences of international migration in the 1990s. Extant ideas are considered in three periods, each with its own characteristic approach: the classical, represented by push and pull and assimilation perspectives; the modern, reflecting neo-Marxist and structured inequality perspectives; and emerging patterns in the literature, focusing on multiculturalism, social movements and citizenship." The geographical focus is on Europe and the United States.

Integration of Immigrants in the Eu_15: Success or Failure?

“…The first and oldest concept is an assimilation. Heisler (1992) states that Milton Gordon defined the assimilation as a diverse process beginning with acculturation (the acquisition of language, religion, and other cultural characteristics), continuing structural integration (establishing relationships in a society, lack of discrimination and prejudices) until final assimilation. Heisler (1999) criticizes this concept for the unilateralism of the outlook when the process of adaptation depends primarily on the personality of the immigrant.…”

Cultural integration: Positive and negative perceptions (case of Tornio, Finland)

“…The immigrant adaptation refers to the processes by which the newcomers adjust and integrate socially, economically, and politically within a new host community. The social scientists have long been interested in how immigrants are incorporated into new countries (Scott 1989;Heisler 1992;DeWind 1997;Hagan 1998;Portes et al 2004;Mayblin 2016). In their attempts to understand the contemporary migration to industrialized nations the researchers focus increasingly on the concept of social connections in a multicultural context.…”

“…The terms such as assimilation, acculturation, incorporation, and integration have been used to describe various ways of newcomers' adjustment to and involvement within a nation's economy, political and social systems. The adaptation processes of the immigrants is studied within a multicultural approach (Heisler 1992;Toğuşlu et al 2014), acculturation (Berry 1997;Wimmer & Soehl 2014) and assimilation theories (Piedra & Engstrom 2009; Albarraciń 2016). On the both sides of the Atlantic, the sociological literature points at the possible role of the culture in explaining ways of immigrant incorporation, including socioeconomic mobility, school success, and intermarriage (LeMay 2000; Suárez-Orozco 2000; Portes & Rivas 2011).…”

Post-Colonial Journeys: Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration

“…Theories explaining immigration focus on a wide variety of micro and macro-level processes, including geographical differences in the supply and demand for labor, wage differentials, the international division of labor, the rise of global capitalism, or economic conditions of advanced capitalist societies (Massey et al 1993). Other theories draw on network theories, the concept of migration chains, or institutionalist theories to demonstrate how immigration persists beyond initial conditions (Heisler 1992;Massey et al 1993;Morawska 1990;Rystand 1992;Salt 1992). Other work uses a historical or world-systems perspective that includes the impact of colonialism (Chan 1990:48;Heisler 1992:630;Massey et al 1993:444-448;Mesthrie 1993:25-27).…”