Immigration is one of the most contested issues in contemporary European politics. Pro-immigration advocates highlight the economic and cultural dynamism that diverse immigrants from around the world can bring. However, anti-immigration activists criticize the economic and cultural changes that come with immigration, especially when they perceive those changes to be at the expense of native Europeans. Moreover, terrorism, ISIS, the economic recession, and the recent influx of refugees have all heightened the tensions and political stakes surrounding immigration. Populist parties are on the rise across the European Union, and appear set to only gain strength in the short term.

In light of all these trends, this roundtable of experts explored how recent developments have shaped the pressing issue of immigrant integration in Europe.

This event took place on April 7, 2017 from 12-1:30 in room 4003 of the FedEx Global Education Center.

Roundtable Participants

• Sheri Berman – Columbia University
• Erik Bleich – Middlebury College
  • Twitter: @ErikBleich1
• Randall Hansen – Columbia University
  • Twitter: @ProfRAHansen
• Rahsaan Maxwell – University of North Carolina
  • Twitter: @rahsaanmax
• Patrick Weil – Yale Law School
  • Twitter: @PatrickWeil1
  • Blog and CV

 

 

Sheri Berman on the left and immigration

 

Erik Bleich on anti-immigrant sentiment

Active English-language Twitter feeds for issues related to immigrants in Europe:

• @epkaufm
• @CasMudde
• @robfordmancs
• @tinaleeinberlin
• @AndrewPGeddes

American Political Science Association Migration and Citizenship Section Syllabus Bank:

• Syllabus Bank

Guardian website links for all the recent articles about immigration and refugees (updated on an ongoing basis):

• Immigration
• Refugees

Claire Adida, David Laitin and Marie-Anne Valfort. 2016. Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kirk Bansak, Jens Hainmueller and Dominik Hangartner. 2016. “How economic, humanitarian and religious concerns shape European attitudes towards asylum seekers” Science 354(6309): 217-222.

Sheri Berman. 2017. “Donald Trump isn’t a fascist” Vox.com, January 3, 2017.
Link: http://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/1/3/14154300/fascist-populist-trump-democracy

Erik Bleich. 2011. The Freedom to be Racist? How the United States and Europe Struggle to Preserve Freedom and Combat Racism. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jens Hainmueller, Dominik Hangartner and Duncan Lawrence. 2016. “When lives are put on hold: Lengthy asylum processes decrease employment among refugees” Science Advances 2(8)

Randall Hansen. 2000. Citizenship and Immigration in Post-war Britain: The Institutional Origins of a Multicultural Nation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jennifer Hochschild, Jacqueline Chattopadhyay, Claudine Gay and Michael Jones-Correa. (eds) 2013. Outsiders No More? Models of Immigrant Political Incorporation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rahsaan Maxwell. 2012. Ethnic Minority Migrants in Britain and France: Integration Trade-Offs. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cas Mudde. (ed) 2017. The Populist Radical Right: A Reader. London: Routledge.

Patrick Weil. 2013. How to be French? A Nationality in the Making since 1789. Durham: Duke University Press.