The Politicisation of Local Integration Policymaking in Europe

This book examines local refugee integration policies in Western Europe, focusing on small and medium-sized towns and rural areas. Applying an innovative cross-country comparative approach, it maps and compares integration policies targeting humanitarian migrants in 36 localities across seven countries – Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria. It also analyses the drivers and effects of local policymaking processes in this field.

The book challenges the dominant view that migration policymaking tends to be pragmatic and oriented at problem-solving. Rather, it shows that local integration policies are largely shaped by political factors, including the political affiliations of local governments, the presence and strength of radical right parties, and the dynamics of multilevel party politics. In doing so, the book throws new light on migration policymaking in small European localities, contributing to a field dominated by studies of big cities and metropolitan areas.

Tiziana Caponio is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Italy, and Fellow at Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy.

Andrea Pettrachin is Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Sciences, Law and International Studies, University of Padua, Italy.