The Ethics and Politics of Immigrant Integration, with Kerstin Reibold and Ilse van Liempt

The integration of immigrants is currently an issue of great political concern in almost every liberal democracy, reflecting the high volume of recent arrivals. It is widely assumed in political circles that an important aim of public policy should be to encourage, and even in some cases to require, immigrants and citizens in receiving societies to integrate with each other. How should we think about the goal of integration from an ethical and political perspective?

In this talk, Kerstin Reibold (UiT) will examine the main issues concerning integration policies and expectations from a normative point of view. What justifies the aim of integration? Which duties does this impose on immigrants, citizens, and the state? And how should an ethics of integration react to phenomena such as political backlash against integration, enclaves being formed by immigrants, prejudice, or rising distrust in the face of diversity? The talk will give an overview of the different topics discussed in Kerstin’s forthcoming edited book (co-edited with David Miller), The Ethics of Immigrant Integration, including the different positions of philosophers in favour of or sceptical of the ideal of integration. She will then turn to the more specific question of whether there is a duty to associate in the name of promoting social integration. Do both citizens and immigrants have a duty to participate in associations that facilitate positive intergroup contact, or would such a duty be too burdensome or interfere with individual freedom? Kerstin’s talk will be followed by a commentary by Professor Ilse van Liempt (UU), whose research focuses on the politics of migration with a focus on belonging, citizenship and in/exclusion in the spaces of everyday life in Europe.