Against integration, for human rights
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Discussions on the refugee and migration European crisis have once again focussed on integration as a positive policy that enhances social cohesion. This article argues that the blanket endorsement of integration is wrong and its benefits overstated. The article goes against the prevailing belief by both states and international human rights bodies that ‘integration’ contributes to the realisation of human rights and to social cohesion. It puts forward the proposition that integration of new and old migrants has been used amply to dilute the protection they enjoy under international human rights law. The article identifies five ways in which the integration narrative and policies limit human rights and concludes that the current application of integration at the international level dilutes human rights protection.
Author: Alexandra Xanthaki
Institution: Brunel University of London
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2401981014