ABSTRACT
There is consensus that integration increases resilience and reduces the risk of radicalization. However, integration requires expertise, deliberation, participatory approaches and an abundance of experience generated in practice by multiple actors. This chapter discusses some concepts, such as identity and participation, that can have profound implications for policy, and takes several relatively successful cases of integration of diverse groups in one same community. Integration policies are based on implicit, invisible assumptions that condition both the causal diagnosis and the lines of action and programs designed to respond to the social challenges associated with migratory and refugee movements. The so-called 2015 “European refugee crisis” is an example of how preconceived ideas affect the analysis of social problems and the design of solutions. This crisis is the context in which the chapter first examines the root causes of the “problem.” It then explores the notions of identity and participation and the implications they have for policy. Finally, three cases of relatively successful integration are explored in which different assumptions related to moral structure and community shape the programs and strategies.
