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IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of Migrants (2007-2009)
Call for papers
International workshop on The Policy Use of Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators of Integration
Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel
on the Integration of migrantsand the Institut
National d’Etudes Demographiques (INED).
Paris, France, 25-26 May 2009
Deadline for submissons: 15 February 2009
Social policy makes increasing use of statistical indicators, whether to diagnose a problem, set objectives, or evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies. This observation, however, depends on the particular issue, with some issues being more quantifiable than others. Integration policy falls into the category of issues that are difficult to quantify, at least until recently. The policy approach to integration rested principally on qualitative measures most often formulated in terms of immigrant and ethnic minority’s participation in the host society and their sharing “fundamental values.” Policy formulation responded to normative objectives that were only marginally informed by the social sciences.
The distance that characterized the relationship between the social sciences and the production of integration policies has evolved rapidly. On one hand, the demand for research on which to base integration policies has increased in a number of countries and the circulation of concepts and empirical research results between scientists and policy makers has accelerated. Exchanges and confrontations have multiplied as intermediary organizations build bridges between science and policy: think tanks, private and public foundations, national and international funding agencies, programs bringing together academics and stakeholders, etc. On the other hand, the growing utilization of “integration criteria” in the legal management of immigration, what one could call the “governance of integration,” has reinforced calls to produce indicators, the latter no longer solely used to describe the situation of immigrants or ethnic minorities at a group level, but also at an individual level to decide who may be granted a resident permit or visa. Several European countries have conditioned the deliverance of resident visas on integration criteria such as proficiency in the host country language. Knowledge of the social and cultural context of the host country society is also required for a residence visa or to acquire citizenship. The articulation between “integration” and access to rights thus constitutes one of the important changes characterizing the relationship between scientific approaches to integration and political and legal uses of the concept.
The second seminar of the IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of Migrants invites researchers to submit papers that examine the relationship between policy and scientific approaches to integration, from the point of view of their reciprocal influences. How does research modify integration policies? How do policy demands frame research on integration? Concretely, how are quantitative or qualitative data used in the implementation of policy? Papers can be theoretical or empirical, and represent different disciplinary approaches: history, demography, political science, sociology, anthropology, legal studies, etc. Papers can focus on the national or regional level, or aim to be comparative. Due to the short time table for submitting proposals, this workshop is open to ongoing research projects.
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of Migrants invites researchers in the field to submit a 200-word abstract of their proposed paper (and if the author(s) wish, a full paper which must be unpublished) and fill out the
online submission form, starting 10 January 2009 and no later than 15 February 2009
Abstracts may be submitted in English or in French but the working language at the meeting will be English.
Invitations to attend the workshop will be issued by 1 March 2009.
Participants must submit a draft paper or a PowerPoint presentation by 15 May 2009. These drafts will be circulated among the participants before the meeting.
The workshop will be limited to a maximum of 15 contributed papers. Workshop organizers will pay for expenses at the meeting location for all participants, but can only cover accommodation and travel expenses for a limited number. Participants are therefore encouraged to seek their own funding for travel and invited to specify if they need a grant for their participation when they submit.
For further information, please contact Patrick Simon (simon@ined.fr).