ABSTRACT
This collection of articles represents a welcome change from the prevalent focus on immigration, and particularly in Europe, on the social integration of Turkish migrants. This preoccupation on the integration of individual migrants into the sociopolitical order of immigrant societies is visible both in research, with a trend towards the “new assimilation” theory, 1 and in various public debates, both of which heavily focus on failures of social integration and thus on migration as a social problem. This special issue has taken another road. It self-consciously deals with the integration of collective agents, variously called migrant organizations, voluntary organizations, and community organizations throughout the issue. This perspective is much needed, not the least because it allows us to place immigration as part of the vital and effervescent debate in the social sciences on the present state and future prospects of civil society. In particular, these papers raise questions about transnational aspects of civil society.
