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The Anatomy of Civic Integration

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Part of the Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship Series book series (MDC)

Abstract

Whereas pluralism and respect for diversity were often cited themes in politics and everyday life in the 1980s and most of the 1990s, the rejuvenation of nations and the maintenance of cohesive societies via integration programmes and tests have become prominent policy objec- tives in Western Europe in the new millennium. The multicultural paradigm was first displaced in the Netherlands following the entry into force of the 1998 Newcomer Integration Act, which required newcom- ers to attend language and ‘social orientation’ courses. Following the Dutch initiative and New Labour’s Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which tightened naturalization requirements by introducing a test on ‘sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom’ in addition to language proficiency, the ‘civic integration paradigm’ has taken root in Europe over the last six years. All ‘old migration coun- tries’,1 with the exception of Belgium and France, require applicants for naturalization to take civic orientation tests, and pre-existing lan- guage requirements have been tightened and reinforced. Migrants are also required to attend language and civic orientation courses and, in most cases, to sit integration tests, in order to enter and/or obtain perma- nent residence in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the UK. Non-attendance of integration courses affects their access to social benefits in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, France and the UK.

Keywords

  • National Identity
  • Host Society
  • Integration Test
  • Residence Permit
  • Integration Requirement

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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© 2014 Dora Kostakopoulou

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Kostakopoulou, D. (2014). The Anatomy of Civic Integration. In: Anthias, F., Pajnik, M. (eds) Contesting Integration, Engendering Migration. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137294005_3

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