The study of the processes of policy-making for immigration and immigrant incorporation should be considered as a ‘young’ research field, primarily because most of the research in this area consists of ‘grey literature’ (i.e., Ph.D. dissertations and research reports). In order to better understand multilevel governance the authors investigate decision-making processes by adopting an analytical perspective that focuses on the following dimensions: 1) the various levels of government at which decisions are made and the relations between these different levels of government, either more top-down or more bottom-up oriented; and 2) not just formal decision-making processes, but also semi-formal and informal ones.

Examples of these semi- and informal processes are the roles played by unions, NGOs, immigrant associations, social movements, experts, media etc. A bottom-up orientation includes two types of perspectives: a) inputs from lower levels to upper levels and b) inputs from civil society to the public arena. Multilevel governance still represents a poorly investigated research object. This object has developed unevenly in Europe both in terms of the timing of the genesis and of the kinds of themes that have become the focus of researchers’ interest. The main factors accounting for such differences often seem to mirror aspects of the national policy-making structure or machinery (i.e., of the object under investigation).

This title is published within the IMISCOE publication programme as part of the Working Papers. These Working Papers are the products of ongoing work by IMISCOE members that are not (yet) ready for publication within the IMISCOE-AUP Book series. They may range from State of the Art Reports (SoAR) on worldwide research within a particular domain to more specific products of ongoing work. The Working Papers are evaluated by the editorial committee for quality and completeness before being published on the website.

Peer-reviewed publications can be found in the IMISCOE_AUP Book Series developed in co-operation with the Amsterdam University Press (AUP). One of these publications is based on the nine IMISCOE State of the Arts (of which this working paper is one): The dynamics of migration and settlement in Europe. A State of the Art. IMISCOE Joint Studies. Amsterdam: AUP, Rinus Penninx, Maria Berger and Karen Kraal (eds) (2006).

This report is the collaborative effort of the members of the research clusters and brings together their expertise in this specific field.

The IMISCOE Working Papers are part of IMISCOE which is an EU funded Network of Excellence in the Sixth Framework Programme

IMISCOE Network of Excellence
Karen Kraal (Communication Officer), tel. +31 (0)20 525 3659

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Giovanna Zincone and Tiziana Caponio, FIERI, Italy

research

Urban Policy

Social inclusion & integration