“Left or right oriented local governments - does it matter for refugee integration?” : how does the local political context affect the integration process of refugees in the Netherlands?

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“Left or right oriented local governments -

does it matter for refugee integration?”

How does the local political context affect the integration process of refugees in the Netherlands?

Student

Hannah Kay

Student number

11179651

Bachelor Thesis

Political Geography and Migration

Thesis supervisor

Mw. dr. I.C. (Inge) van der Welle

Bachelor

Human Geography & Urban and Regional

Planning

Date

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1. Introduction

“Geert Wilders was beaten, but at the cost of fuelling racism in the Netherlands” (The Guardian, 2017)

A general trend towards the exclusion of non-natives has taken place in the Netherlands. Populists parties have fuelled racist, exclusionist and anti-Islam discourses into the political realm. The Dutch political landscape has experienced a new geographical divide when looking at recent voting patterns (de Voogd, 2017). A gain in an already fragmented political landscape can be identified for the ‘right’ due to the rise of ‘identity politics’ in the political spectrum introduced by populist right wing parties, where the Dutch norms and values are taking the upper hand in political discourses _{(Figure 2} ; Abels, 2017). A fundamental change can be recognised in this political shift, where active participation in society is no longer sufficient to integrate, and instead a complete assimilation in all aspects is required, especially regarding cultural dimensions (Oomkes, 2018).

Figure 2: Political shift towards the ‘right’ based on statistics from the 2010 - 2017 general elections in the Netherlands (de Voogd, 2017)

Hand in hand with the growing concern for the ‘other’, there is a notable development in the last decade surrounding the Dutch policy concerning the integration of asylum seekers that have acquired a legal permit to reside in the Netherlands (Rekenkamer, 2017). A decentralisation process has taken place to spread the burden of the increasing amount of refugees across country. The responsibility for the integration process of asylum seekers has been passed down from a national to a regional or municipal level, or even in some situations to an individual level, for cost efficiency and public support related reasons (Rijksoverheid, 2019). The wider geographical distribution of refugees over the country is interlinked with the distribution of responsibilities concerning the integration of refugees. Municipalities have a task to house and help refugees to integrate into their communities (VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, 2019). However, the highly fragmented political landscape has led to

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the development of numerous integration strategies depending on local policymakers’ opinions with local differences between municipalities as a result (Rijksoverheid, 2019; Trouw, 2016). When refugees have obtained their residence permit, they go through several procedures and eventually get assigned to a municipality by the Dutch government, which is considered as the initial phase of their integration process (VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, 2019). Therefore, their assigned location by the Dutch government could have a considerable impact on their integration process and future opportunities in Dutch society (Trouw, 2016).

According to Ghorashi & Suanet (2017) the context in which refugees are placed during their first years of asylum is essential for their long term development as their resilience is formed by a combination of individual capacities and social conditions. The government matches permit holders’ qualifications with local job availability (Rijksoverheid, 2019). However, several reports state that the asylum holders’ integration process is not occurring without complications (Engbersen et al., 2015:3; VWN, 2014; Rekenkamer, 2017). According to Engbersen et al. (2015; p.3), only one in three asylum holders in the Netherlands between the age of 15-64 years old has a paid job and, therefore, many of them are permanently dependent on social assistance benefits. It is important to identify which mechanisms facilitate a successful integration process into Dutch society. Furthermore, in 2020 a new policy regarding integration strategies will be formulated, for which it is essential to determine how geographical placement in municipalities affects an asylum holders’ access to allocated resources (Ager & Strang, 2008). This knowledge could help make future integration more successful and spare long-term economic and social costs for both the refugees and the host societies (EDF, 2018).

Natter & de Haas (2018) state that there is no hard-right and soft-left divide in migration policy, however, party polarisation does translate into significant differences when it comes to integration policies. Therefore, this research focuses on how the geographical placement of refugees can affect their integration process, i.e. if there are differences in integration opportunities depending on the place of settlement. The analysis of local integration strategies in two politically contrasting municipalities will furthermore enable to identify if and how the political orientation can create differences in approach. The integration process will be evaluated through a policy analysis combined with records of personal experiences and perspectives from various actors. The following research question has been formulated:

How does the local political context affect the integration process of refugees in the Netherlands? This paper is structured by, firstly, presenting a brief overview of the political evolution in the Netherlands over the past decade as well as of the discourses surrounding integration policies (_{Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework} ). In the following chapter, concepts will be operationalised and the methodological approach will be explained in greater detail ( _{Chapter 3: Methodology} ). This will then be followed by the results combined with an analysis of each municipality separately ( _{Chapter 4} & 5 & 6 ). In Chapter 7 a conclusion of the results will be presented with an attempt at answering the research question and then, finally, a brief reflection will be given in _{Chapter 8}.

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2. How do national politics translate into local integration contexts?

Fragmentation in the political landscape concerning the integration discourse, caused by right-wing populist parties in Europe, has reshaped politics into a new form: a “cultural war”, where the focus on national and cultural identity, the protection of the indigenous culture, customs and ways of life, lie at the heart of the debate (Betz, 2003; Boomkens, 2010). Crisis and problems are commonly narrowed down to ‘cultural’ causes, and thus, ‘cultural’ solutions are sought out as well (Boomkens, 2010). With the growing political fragmentation, impulses can be detected towards inclusionist as well as a restrictionist approaches towards the ‘outsider’ (Freeman, 2006). Local politicians shift their policy positions towards the ‘outsider’ to either greater openness or greater closure according to community preferences (Money, 1997).

2.1: Integration models and shifting paradigms

Western democracies have struggled greatly with their integration policy approaches and models. As Entzinger (2014) points out, the Netherlands has seen a shift within one generation from the dominant exclusionist model, towards a multiculturalist and integrationist model, and finally, towards an assimilationist model. The Netherlands was seen as a leader with their multicultural model that acknowledges the natural phenomena of group formation and that this phenomena does facilitate incorporation and, therefore, ethnic communities should be promoted (Money, 2010). At the core of this model lies the assumption that equal access to the welfare state is more important for a successful integration rather than cultural recognition (Entzinger, 2014). With the turning of the political climate in the 90’s and at the turn of the century, purely economic integration wasn’t considered as ‘successful’ anymore: there was an incentive for the ‘other’ to become ‘like us’ (Entzinger, 2014) which led to the gradual reshaping of integration policies. The multicultural model gradually turned into an assimilationist approach, where culturalization was accentuated rather than economic integration, i.e. there is a moralization of citizenship where one has to meet the formal requirements of the nation-state as well as the uncoded inclusion into ‘society’ (Schinkel, 2010). Immigrants themselves had been blamed for their ‘slow’ paced integration and been held individually responsible for the issues they faced. In a nutshell, this meant that individuals which succeeded to fully assimilatie into the host society were able to move freely within that society with the fullest of their rights (Money, 2010). However, if permit holders failed to meet integration requirements, i.e. assimilation, within a certain time period, their permit would be withdrawn and they would lose their rights in the Netherlands (VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, 2019). Through this turning attitude, the nation-state has developed new strategies of inclusion and exclusion (Schinkel, 2010).

2.2: Issues with integration models

Integration models are useful to make national level comparisons and to illustrate the development of these models according to the national political climate. However, in practice, integration policy models and theory results can differ significantly as they are implemented locally, for instance at the sub-national or municipal level, in the Netherlands (Duyvendak & Scholten, 2011). Clearly, the meaning and use of policies have changed over time and spatially, according to political level and location (Duyvendak & Scholten, 2011) as there is an agreement that a _{one-size fits all approach is not} the correct method (Entzinger, 2014). For this reason, it is interesting to research how policies are locally framed and put in practice. National policies increasingly portray diversity as ‘negative’ and

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state that there is no place for the ‘other’ in the native society (Hoekstra, 2015). Therefore, different local contexts can possibly hinder or facilitate immigrants’ integration into the host society (Crul and Schneider, 2010). Furthermore, models have the tendency to oversimplify situations as there can be many other intervening factors that illustrate the importance of looking at the underlying dynamics and components of integration (Entzinger, 2014). Thus, an analysis of integration policies should move away from what Wimmer & Glick Schiller (2002: 301) refer to as “methodological nationalism”; where integration models have evolved on a national level because the integration discourse is politically constituted by the nation-state for which integration are seen through a negative and problematic lense.

2.3: The role of local multi-level governance structures

The traditional structures of managing integration flows has been reshaped by recent migration flows with a turn towards multi-level governance: “the dispersion of authority away from central government - upwards to the supranational level, downwards to subnational jurisdictions, and sideways to public-private networks” (Panizzon & Riemsdijk, 2019: 1226), i.e. traditional structures are redistributed between different state and non-state actors among various levels with an interaction taking place between vertical (different levels of government) and horizontal (local state actors and other non-state actors) structures (Careja, 2019).

Figure 3 : Relationships between structures and actors in the integration process (Careja, 2019:

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Conventional governance structures are typically characterized with their vertical structures, in a ‘top down approach’, where the decision-making actors and regulations are made entirely at an upper level that the local-level has to conform to. Meanwhile, the present-day multi-level governance has a greater interaction with horizontal structures resulting in adaptive and contextual changes as

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decision-making power shifts between experts, local authorities and other initiative’s who exchange and negotiate outcomes. Often non-state actors, for instance non-governmental organisations (NGOs), are client-orientated that guarantee a far more inclusive approach. Thus, local policy making is creating a far more complex picture, where NGOs, immigrant associations, experts, media, neighbours and local government actors all influence local policymaking ( _{Figure 3} ) (Caponio & Borkert, 2010) . Figure ₃ captures these interactions between different actors and structures and how they affect the path from policies to outcome. Since refugees are expected to integrate through their own agency, the outcomes are highly dependent on the governance structures that are created to support their agency to have a positive outcome and not merely dependent on the implementation of policy measures (Careja, 2019). Furthermore, other coordination dilemmas may arise from multi-governance structures: with the increasing number of actors it is more difficult to identify or punish defectors, and the coordination of projects/policies can become more expensive and time inefficient (Hooghe & Marks, 2003). Therefore, it is interesting to analyse how multi-level governance structures function on a local-level, i.e. on a municipal-level, to identify how they provide the necessary structures to enable refugees to have agency so they can become successful citizens in the Netherlands, and moreover, to determine how issues arising from coordination dilemmas are found and resolved contextually.

2.4: Variations in the local integration context

The reshaping of local governance structures requires the analyses of multiple actors and variables at a local level that could be of influence on the refugees’ integration settlement which have been identified through the analysis of previous research and various literature (Ager & Strang, 2008; Barber, 2018; Phillimore, 2012). The selection has resulted in several factors that are relevant when looking at integration on a municipal scale in the Netherlands.

First of all, the political agenda of a municipality has a major role in deciding what to prioritize: whether to stimulate ethnic diversity or rather to neglect and take upon a more exclusionist approach. Therefore, the political orientation of a municipality is fundamental as it plays a dominant role in the decision-making processes and in setting up a framework to take action concerning the integration policy of a municipality: “ _{politics may set the frame for legitimate action in the development of} immigrant policies thus indirectly influencing what can be done and what should be avoided” (_{Caponio & Borkert, 2010: 19). The categorizations of ‘political orientation’ is often debated and the} definition of this term changes over time, and therefore, it is important to explain this concept in greater depth. A categorization can be made between politically ‘left’ and politically ‘right’, which is a common divide made in social sciences. The parties whom are categorised ‘left’ are known as being progressive, open to change-oriented policies, and they want a greater role for the government within society. Meanwhile, ‘right-wing’ parties are rather known for their more conservative approach, against policy-changes, want to limit the involvement of the government (PDC, 2019).

Secondly, the population size and composition of a municipality can be of influence on refugees’ integration processes as they are placed in a new host society. Issues regarding a different composition and size could arise if, for instance in one municipality there would be a large concentration of the population with a migration background, which would be an indicator for possible _{ethnic niches}. Incorporation into the labour market is perceived as one of the deciding factors that allows integration into the host society (Kushnirovich, 2010). Therefore, the presence of immigrants’ ethnic segments are considered essential as they facilitate a chance of employment through ethnic businesses (De

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Haas, 2010). However, it has been proved that in the long term, the presence of labour market _ethnic niches in an immigrant’s life doesn’t lead to a perception of ‘being integrated’. On the other hand, the presence of _{ethnic niches in the private sphere, meaning the presence of co-ethnic friends or} communicating in the same language or following the same media channels, does lead to a perception of ‘integrating’. For this reason, it is important to identify the possible presence of _{ethnic niches as} they can be facilitating factors to integration into the host society (Kushnirovich, 2010). Furthermore, employment and unemployment rates are a further indicator of social well-being in the municipality and afterall are also indicators for the labour market situation and opportunities for new employers (Kushnirovich, 2010).

Thirdly, the mobility of asylum holders, i.e. the connection to infrastructure, concerns the connection of the residing town or city with other parts of the Netherlands or neighbouring countries. This is important to prevent isolation from the labour market and also, for example, from other social connections, such as family and friends. Infrastructure can thus be considered as a facilitating factor towards integration (Kuhlman, 1991), for example the presence of train stations and their direct connection to the _{Randstad can be used as an indicator to determine whether or not the settled} refugees live in an accessible area. The _{Randstad is a Dutch term used to describe the polycentric} urban area in the western part of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and numerous other cities. The _{Randstad area is one of the most densely populated areas in} the Netherlands, with an advanced economy and with leading sectors such as logistics, horticulture and financial services. Additionally, the area has one of the lowest unemployment rates of the country and is one of the most attractive areas in the Netherlands for foreign direct investment (OECD, 2007). The _{Randstad can thus be described as an area “where things are happening”. However, in general,} cities are considered as providing many job opportunities, as well as other facilities, which may be important for the initial integration phase and, moreover, is known to contribute positively to the revitalization of smaller cities (Frideres, 2016).

Summing up, the local integration context is expected to influence refugees’ integration processes as different opportunities are created in various municipal contexts. It is expected that a ‘left wing’ municipality will be more open to various local ‘bottom-up’ movements taking important decisions and actions during the integration process of refugees and, additionally, that refugees will feel more integrated in these municipalities as ‘left wing’ parties in comparison to ‘right wing parties’ are known as ‘refugee-friendly parties’ (VWN, 2019). Furthermore, multicultural societies with a wider range of nationalities and ethnic niches are more likely to stimulate integration. Moreover, the proximate location to The Randstad is expected to provide easier access to various labour market opportunities. In a nutshell, the local environment in which refugees’ are placed is expected to have a significant influence on their integration process. Furthermore, the local context is also expected to be influenced by national frameworks, i.e. the interaction between vertical structures is expected to be rather “top-down” as municipalities have to work within set frameworks. However, municipalities have the liberty to adapt to their contextual needs, and thus, the horizontal actors are predicted to help fulfil this role.

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3. Methodology

3.1: Research strategy and analytic approach

A qualitative research strategy has been chosen because of its in depth characteristics where underlying dynamics of integration processes are sought to be clarified through various ways of data collection. Moreover, this research has exploratory characteristics as the specific meaning of political orientation of a municipality in the context of refugee integration hasn’t been clarified and theorized in previous research. A narrative interpretive method has been applied as it gives a foundation for a semi-grounded theoretical approach for analysis. On the basis of existing scholarly literature and theories, a context has been documented relating to the field of research and the determining factors in the refugees’ integration processes have been identified. Thus, the theoretical framework has served as a background and platform to conduct the research. This deductive approach has been used to generate a theory regarding whether or not a municipality’s political orientation affects the refugees’ integration opportunities. The applied analytical approach has a high internal validity because of its narrative methods which puts forward in depth processual aspects of social life. However, the external validity is reasonably low because the latter methods make it hard to generalise across different social settings as it is context dependent through the local-level approach (Bryman, 2016).

3.2: Operationalisation of key concepts

3.2.1: Integration process

Inspired by Caballero (2017) and Ager & Strang (2008), the following categorization of the term integration process has been made that will be used throughout this research: _structuralintegration, social integration and _emotional integration (_{Table 1}).

Structural integration refers to how a refugee has been supported to integrate into the existing structures and functional aspects of society, i.e. the assistance provided towards achieving the sufficient language level or access to courses, the enrolment to schooling and other educational means, the finding of appropriate housing, the preparation required to take the integration exam and the signing of the participation declaration. Furthermore, the _{structural also refers to the percentage of} refugees that participate in the labour market that can be indicated through employment and unemployment levels. This data will be collected through the analysis of the municipal’s actions regarding the integration of refugees with the use of policies, policy assessment reports and other documents that are found with relevant data and statistics. Additional information will be sought through semi-structured interviews with policy makers or other members from the local government. S_ocial integration, on the other hand, refers to the social embedding into the host society, i.e. the social acceptance and participation in the host society, which can be analysed through interethnic communication between locals and the newcomers, for instance through friendships or other forms of partnerships (Caballero, 2017). An additional indicator is the _{cultural integration}demonstrating the extent that refugees have adopted essential elements of the host culture, for instance their traditions or ceremonies, whilst maintaining their own culture and vice versa how the receiving society has adopted elements from the new culture, which is important for the formation of intercultural relations _(Algan et al., 2012)_{. Furthermore, another dimension is the presence of social ties through ethnic niches that}

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can be identified through the presence and contact within ethnic groups (Ager & Strang, 2008). The sources for this data will be collected through previous research, policy assessment reports and semi-structured interviews with civil society organisations.

Emotional integration, or also referred to as individual integration, refers to the personal integration process, i.e. the development of a _{sense of place} ._{Sense of place is the interaction between the physical} environment and personal interaction in the place, and thus, can be analysed through the increasing sense of belonging and territorial identification in the new place of settlement ( _{Shamai & Ilatov,} 2005)_{. Furthermore, the refugees' attitude towards the host society should also be included. Built trust} and their experienced discrimination act as indicators because they give an idea of community relations and, thus, their relation that the refugees have developed with the place and their sense of community (Algan et al., 2012). _{For this purpose, the data will also be collected through} semi-structured interviews with refugees, or through existing research, in order to provide an every day of life perspective regarding their own identity and relations with the host society.

Concepts Dimensions Variables Indicators Data/sources

Integration process

Structural integration

Dutch language level a. Pass rate integration exam

b. Own experience with Dutch language

c. Achieved level of Dutch language after 3 years

→ Policy

assessment report → Interviews with policymakers

Enrolment in the Dutch education system a. % Enrolled in Dutch education system Labour market participation a. % Employed b. % Unemployed c. % With a degree Housing a. % Housing b. Type of housing Participation declaration a. Percentage signed

participation declaration Juridical status a. Duration before

receiving permit Social

integration

Social acceptance a. Social inclusion by host society

b. Cultural integration: i. The adoption of the dominant culture whilst maintaining their own

→ Interviews with civil society organisation → Policy assessment reports → Interviews with

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culture by refugees ii. The adoption of elements from the minority group by the host society

refugees

→ Interviews with policy makers

Social participation a. Interaction between local residents and newcomer

b. Interethnic communication Social ties in ethnic niches a. Presence of ‘group’

formation with same ethnic background Emotional

integration

Sense of place a. Sense of belonging: feeling at home 2. Territorial identification → Previous research/policy assessment reports → Interviews with refugees

Attitude towards host society

1. Feeling of trust 2. Experienced discrimination

Table 1 : Operationalisation of “integration process” (Hannah Kay, 2019) 3.2.2: Research units: Municipalities

The research units throughout this research are the municipalities because the aim is to assess how the political orientation at a local level, i.e. the municipality, can affect the opportunities that refugees receive resulting in different integration processes (_{Figure 4)}.

Figure 4: Conceptual model (Kay, 2019)

The analysis of this research has taken place on a municipal level, thus on a _local-level, because there has been a shift in the Netherlands where the implementation of national policies has taken place on a

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municipal level (Dekker et al. 2015). Resulting in the local government’s responsibility and leading role in the creation of a framework and in taking measures surrounding the integration process of refugees. Furthermore, the development of policies at a local-level seems straightforward since it is at that precise level that the asylum holders try to settle in, i.e. where they try to find a job, meet other people etc. Additionally, it is specifically in a local setting that negative as well as positive aspects of diversity are lived (Scholten en Penninx, 2010). Besides, previous research has proven that migrants identify with a local identity of a community rather than with a national identity (Scholten en Penninx, 2010), and thus, further motivates the decision to have an analysis on a municipal level.

3.2.3: Case selection: The local integration context

The importance of the local integration context for refugees’ during their settlement experiences has been addressed in Chapter 2.4: Variations in the local integration context. In this chapter, the variables will be specifically applied to the selection of the case studies of Nijmegen and Almere, and will illustrate the case selection procedure.

The comparative case study design has been selected to be able to make a statement on a regional level. Furthermore, since the analysis for this statement will be taking place on various levels, on an individual and a municipal level, the research design should be called a multiple embedded case study (Yin, 2013). The comparison will be made using two contrasting case studies: the ‘left-wing’ community of Nijmegen and the ‘right-wing’ community of Almere ( Chapter 3.2.3.2: the political orientation). The cases have been selected through the ‘controlled comparison’ method, also known as the ‘most similar case’_{(Figure 5} ), because the two case studies are as similar as possible in all but one independent variable, which is their political orientation (Lijphart, 1975). The other variables used for the case selection are as similar as possible _{(Figure 5}).

Case 1 Case 2 Independent Variables X X X X X X _Y X X X X X X _Y Dependent Variable Z Z

Figure 5: ‘most similar case study’ design (Kay, 2019) 3.2.3.1: Internal and external validity

The use of case studies will highly increase the internal validity as it provides an in-depth insight of the local integration contexts. Moreover, the comparison between the two cases can help to better understand the underlying social phenomena as there is an analysis within and across different situations, that can help improve theory-building (Bryman, 2016; Yin, 2003). Furthermore, this research design provides a high construct validity because variables such as political orientation are hard to measure and a contextualized (comparative) approach is a more suitable method which increases the internal validity. However, the disadvantage of choosing this research design is the difficulty to generalize across wider populations because the findings are context specific and so the external validity is reasonably low (Bryman, 2016). Furthermore, the ‘most similar case’ research

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design is considered unrealistic in the sense that two case studies can never be identical. To solve this issue, all variables that are considered to be of importance whilst researching this phenomena have been selected to be as similar as possible and the existing difference have been taken on board by the researcher (Bennett, 2004).

3.2.3.2: The political orientation

In this research, two municipalities have been chosen with different political orientations. The parties VVD (_{People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), PVV (Party for Freedom) and CDA (Christian} Democratic Appeal) are categorised as indicators for a ‘right-wing’ municipality, meanwhile, _SP (Socialist Party), _{GroenLinks (the Green Party) and PvdA (Labour Party) have been categorised as} indicators for a ‘left-wing’ municipality. The categorization has been made according to socio-cultural statements made by the parties regarding the integration of asylum seekers and refugees (_{Table 2}).

‘right-wing’ statements ‘left-wing’ statements

VVD “_{The Dutch passport is the} jackpot. You have to earn it. We therefore do not want to give newcomers the opportunity to naturalize after just 5 years, but only after 10 years. And we are going to tighten the conditions .” (VVD, 2019) - Translated by Hannah Kay (2019)

D66 “_{There is no place in society for} discriminatory, homophobic, anti semitic or muslim hate related behaviour” (D66, 2019) -Translated by Hannah Kay (2019) “_{Emancipation has to provide} equal opportunities to everyone: regardless of age, origin, gender … or skin colour. Only when equal opportunities arise, one can get the best out of themselves” (D66, 2019) _{- Translated by} Hannah Kay (2019)

PVV “_{No more asylum seekers and} immigrants from Islamic countries: borders closed.” (PVV, 2017) _{- Translated by} Hannah Kay (2019)

“_{The withdrawal of all asylum} seekers with time-limited permits; the closure of all centres for asylum seekers” (PVV, 2017) _{- Translated by} Hannah Kay (2019)

GroenLinks “GroenLinks wants to eliminate the backlog of migrants [eliminate the disadvantages faced by migrants] and break through cultural and religious taboos.” - Translated by Hannah Kay (2019) “_{... But not everyone feels at home} in Dutch society. We must include them and not exclude them.” (GroenLinks, 2019) _{- Translated} by Hannah Kay (2019)

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CDA “Integration is the refugee’s responsibility. Integration costs are for the permit holders themselves.” (NU, 2017) -Translated by Hannah Kay (2019)

PvdA “... everyone is different and therefore everyone is equal” (PvdA, 2019) - Translated by Hannah Kay (2019)

Table 2: Categorization of political parties in the Netherlands (PDC, 2019)

The selection of ‘right-wing’ Almere and ‘left-wing’ Nijmegen was taken on the basis of the population’s voting behaviour in the municipalities ( _{Table 3} ). A strong presence of the anti-immigrant party _{PVV (23,1%) was an initial indicator to take a closer look at the municipality as this was the} biggest party during the 2014 municipal elections: an important moment because these elections took place when a large amount of refugees had already arrived in the Netherlands and just before reaching the “peak” of influx in 2015 _{(Henderikse & Pouwels, 2018). Furthermore, the 2017 national elections} were taken into account where the two parties that received the largest amount of votes in Almere consisted of the _{VVD (20,8%) and the PVV (15,6%) (Table 3}). Both parties have strong anti-immigrant positionalities that could possibly influence the local integration context because of the municipal role in refugee’s integration process, while also portraying the host society's attitude towards refugees that could further influence their settlement process (Chapter 2.4: Variations in the local integration context). In comparison to Almere, the municipality of Nijmegen has a high percentage of their votes going to ‘left-wing’ parties: _{GroenLinks (20,5%) and SP (20,5%) in the 2014} municipal elections, and _{GroenLinks (20,1%) and D66} (19,5%) during the 2017 parliamentary elections (_{Table 3}). Therefore, from the political orientation of the municipalities, the municipality of Nijmegen is considered to be more of a ‘refugee-friendly’ municipality in comparison to Almere. 3.2.3.3: Population demographics

The following variables regarding population demographics have been selected to be as similar as possible in both the case studies. The use of demographics provides an understanding and creates a general picture of each municipality separately that will, consequently, facilitate the analysis and comparison of the cases. All of the following demographics illustrated in Table 3 are as similar as possible; i.e. the balance between the population size and the amount of permit holders in the two municipalities, the migration background composition of their populations, the employment and unemployment rates and their crime rates.

3.2.3.4: Degree of urbanity

Another variable has been considered important besides the population demographics in _{Table 3} . As mentioned in Chapter 2.4: Variations in the local integration context , the presence of infrastructure and the accessibility to the _{Randstad should be taken into account as this provides better access to the} labour market. However, since refugees are initially (the first few years) bound to the settlement context they are placed in, the degree of urbanity will be considered of greater importance than the access to the _Randstad because cities themselves have a lot of labour market opportunities that are more relevant in the early stages of refugee integration in the cities of Almere and Nijmegen.

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Criteria Dimensions Case 1: Nijmegen Case 2: Almere

Province - - Gelderland Flevoland

Different Political orientation a. ‘Left-wing’ or ‘right-wing’ b. Largest party municipal elections 2014

c. First party (Dutch general elections 2017) d. Second party (Dutch general elections 2017) a. ‘Left-wing’ b. GroenLinks (20,5%) & SP (20,5%) c. GroenLinks (20,1%) d. D66 (19,5%) a. ‘Right-wing’ b. PVV (23,1%) c. VVD (20.8%) d. PVV (15,6%)

Similar Balance between population size and permit holders a. Population size b. Assigned amount of permit holders to house in 2018 a. 96 186 households b. 241 permit holders a. 85 489 households b. 279 Similar Migration background composition of population in 2018 (ethnic niches) a. *Non-western b. Turkey c. Suriname d. Morocco a. 25,1% b. 12% c. 3,4% d. 8,4 % a. 27,4% b. 4,4% c. 27,4% d. 9,5%

Similar Employment and unemployment rates of host society

a. Amount of people with social assistance benefits b. Household below or around the minimum wage c. Average income per inhabitant a. 7880 persons b. 10,9 % c. 24 200 euro a. 6410 persons b. 7,5 % c. 24 600 euro

Similar Crime rates a. Theft (per 1000 inhabitants) b. Destruction (per 1000 inhabitants) c. Violence and sexual abuse (per 1000 inhabitants) a. 5 b. 6 c. 6 a. 6 b. 5 c. 6

Similar Degree of urbanity Degree of urbanity from a scale 1 to 5

2 2

Table 3: Case selection criteria (AlleCijfers, 2019)

* Non-Western: total non-western inhabitants minus Morocco, the Dutch Antilles and Aruba, Suriname and Turkey

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3.2.4: Non-governmental organisations

There is an increasing role of non-state actors within the integration governance in the Netherlands, for example organisations such as _{VluchtelingenWerk Nederland}. These _{non-governmental} organisations (NGO’s) function independently from the local and national authorities, and often take upon a bottom-up approach as they are client-orientated, i.e. _{VluchtelingenWerk Nederland is an} advocate for refugees. They mobilise at a local-level in order to inform and support refugees, however, with the ‘local-turn’ and the power in local integration policies shifting towards multiple actors, their role has become of greater importance as they also influence local integration policies, and thus, making them interesting non-state actors to consider during this research (Careja, 2019); (_{Caponio & Borkert, 2010) .}

3.3: Methods of data collection and analysis

The use of a comparative case study design provides the opportunity to use two dominant qualitative methods of data collection: document analysis and interviews.

3.3.1: Documents

The first phase of data collection during this research was carried out through the use of public documents and the included statistics in order to interpret and reconstruct the significance of the documents. Another more practical reason, was related to time and cost efficiency because the interviewing of multiple partners is very time consuming. Therefore, the following document selection was put in place: integration policies and the local political agenda, policy and policy assessment reports with results and statistics (_{Table 4 & Table 5)} . During the document selection special attention was given to the source and their background, the reasons and motives for which the document was written, who the document was aimed at and for what purpose. The documents were then analysed thematically in order to give an efficient basis for interpretation. Since this research follows a deductive approach, the analysis process took place using “selective coding”; variables and themes that were identified during the preparatory reading (Chapter 3.2: Operationalisation of key concepts) which made it possible to select useful information for the interpretation (Bryman, 2016).

Document type Author & year of publication

Name of document

Integration policy Municipality of Nijmegen (2016)

“Actieplan integratie vergunninghouders 2016-2018”

Policy assessment report

Municipality of Nijmegen (2018)

“Tussentijdse evaluatie: Actieplan ‘Status en dan..?’ integratie statushouders 2016-2018” Research: Master

Thesis

Igor de Freitas Carneiro da Silva (2017)

“Patterns of Belonging : Promoting integration of Syrian and Eritrean refugees in Nijmegen”

Integration results DUO (2019) “Voortgangscijfers Inburgering Nijmegen” Table 4: Used documents during data collection in Nijmegen (Kay, 2019)

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Document type Author & year of publication Name of document Integration policy Gemeente Almere (2016)

“Programmaplan van vluchteling naar Almeerder”

Integration policy &

evaluation report

Wilma Henderiske & Babette Pouwels (2018)

“Van vluchteling naar Almeerder, wat werkt? Deel 1: reconstructie van de beleidstheorie”

Evaluation report Mathijs Tuynman en Mirjam Boon (2017)

“Monitor programma statushouders Almere, nulmeting 2016”

Evaluation report Mirjam Boon (2019) “Almeerse vergunninghouders in beeld ” Integration

results

DUO (2019) “Voortgangscijfers Inburgering Almere”

Interview with Froukje de Jonge

Daniel van Heijningen_, Marcel Ham

“Wethouder Froukje de Jonge van Almere: ‘De integratie van vluchtelingen is nog geen succes’”

Table 5: Used documents during data collection in Almere (Kay, 2019) 3.3.2: Semi-structured interviews

The second phase of data collection involved the use of semi-structured interviews with key figures as they provide a liberty to gain further, deeper and more personal stories regarding topics that have been identified during the document analysis. This is a method where the detailed questions are not prepared beforehand, but where, the interview topics are formulated beforehand and assembled in an item list (Annex 1). The goal is to gain knowledge on different levels: the municipal level, the individual level and the level in between these two actors, for example, non-governmental organisations. On the municipal level, an expert interview has taken place with local government representatives in each municipality ( _{Table 6}). These experts were involved in the policy making as well as in the implementation of it. Then, members of _{VluchtelingenNederland were interviewed in} each municipality as they can provide information from multiple perspectives: the policy as well as the refugee perspective (_{Table 6}). The interview analysis took place on a thematic basis. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed through “selective coding” according to the themes and variables identified in Chapter 3.2: Operationalisation of key concepts . The “selective coding” was carried out using the digital program _{ATLAS.ti as this is more efficient and helps with the data} interpretation (Bryman, 2016).

Name Function Date

G. Al Eshaq Policy advisor at the Municipality of Nijmegen 14th of May 2019 N. van Rhenen Intern social assistance at _{VluchtelingenWerk}

Nederland Nijmegen

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S. Chaban Policy advisor at the Municipality of Almere 20th of May 2019 E. Huric Team leader at _{VluchtelingenWerk Nederland Almere 4th of June 2019}

Table 6: Respondents semi-structured interviews (Kay, 2019)

A concern regarding the use of interviews as a data collection method, is the _{interviewer variability}. The term refers to the variation in the responses given by the interviewee due to the way the interviewer conducts the interview, for instance by asking questions in a certain manner. This could be problematic if the variation in the respondents’ answers is due to the interviewer-context. There are two types of _{interviewer variability that are likely to take place: intra-interviewer variability and} inter-interviewer variability. _{Intra-interviewer variability refers to the variation within interviews,} which should not be too much of an issue since the same interviewer is doing the interviews. However the changing settings of the interviews could influence the interviewers’ techniques and thus the respondents’ answers. Meanwhile, _{inter-interviewer variability refers to variations between} interviews, which should neither cause a problem as the same interviewer is doing all the interviews using a topic list established beforehand. The latter list should guarantee a certain amount of consistency throughout the interviews (Bryman, 2016).

3.4: Ethical considerations

Researchers can have countless effects on their research. It is therefore important to determine the possible influences they may have, and consequently, set up a strategy to minimize their effects. In this research, an extended analysis has been carried out on the role of the positionality of the researcher and on the ethical implementation of data collection, as well as the use and analysis of it (Bryman, 2016).

3.4.1: The positionality of the researcher

The social position of the researcher is by far one of the most important aspects when looking at the positionality of the researcher, especially in this scenario, since the researcher will be conducting this whole research by themselves. The researcher’s age, gender, and other characteristics, such as physical appearance, will undoubtedly form a first impression when contact is made with the participants. This could lead to a change in the respondent’s behaviour or also known as the phenomena of _{reactive effects. A primary characteristic that the researcher kept in mind throughout} this data collection of this research is her accent. Not only is the researchers’ accent different than the local one but it is also considerably different than the national one: the researcher has a “Flemish” accent instead of “Dutch” one. Furthermore, the young age of the interviewer could be considered as amateuristic and could also lead to a different choice in clothing or appearance that might seem rather odd to the respondents. Several simple measures have been thought through to minimise these reactive effects, for instance, making sure to articulate properly, speaking calmly and to make the respondent feel comfortable from the first instance to minimise the social desirability bias and thus creating an intimate setting. Another measure is to dress in a “neutral” manner by hiding or avoiding slogans or any distracting texts or illustrations. Despite these very simple measures, the respondents will still have certain assumptions that are inevitable, however, these very measures will help in order to minimize the effect of the possible interviewer’s influence on their answers (Bryman, 2016).

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3.4.2: Efforts for an ethical implementation

An ethical execution throughout all the stages of this research is utterly important. In this research, an ethical analysis is made with a focus on four categories by Diener & Crandall (1978): whether there is harm to participants, whether there is a lack of informed consent, whether there is an invasion of privacy and whether deception is involved. Furthermore, the role of conscious partiality is briefly highlighted (Bryman, 2016).

Damage to the respondent and researcher refers to any type of harm that could be caused throughout the research process. The most likely form of harm during the data collection is through talking about integration procedures with policy makers because of diverging opinions surrounding the approach that should be taken. Having the interview take place in a safe and convenient setting for the participants should avoid disturbing events from taking place. Additionally, before the start of the interview, there is an explanation regarding the techniques and methods used throughout the interview (Bryman, 2016). Furthermore, participants could be harmed from the findings and publication of the research, for instance, if the results would suggest that the municipality’s political context does heavily influence refugee integration processes. In such a situation, the findings could upset asylum holders as well as the municipalities if they were to be made public. However, the aim of this research is to detect issues with current integration policies in order to improve future policies so that the refugees’ opportunities in the host society improve. The local municipalities’ reputation could be harmed, however, the validity of this research relies on the specific integration contexts of refugees which makes it essential to publicise the contextual surrounding that the research took place in (Bryman, 2016).

The following ethical consideration is the issue of informed consent. Regarding the interviews, a lack of informed consent would be that the participants would have had insufficient or incomplete information about the research when deciding to take part in the research. Accordingly, the researcher has to explain the nature of the research, however, this is not evident as it is time consuming and could scare the participant from participating at all. Therefore, a very short explanation of the research was prepared before going into the interviews so that participants can be informed quickly and correctly (Bryman, 2016).

Another ethical issue is the invasion of privacy which is especially crucial when using qualitative research methods because the essence is to dive into the private realm of participants. However, when presenting this kind of data identity is essential for the trustworthiness of the research. Therefore, to respect the participants' privacy, their permission has been asked to use quotes from the interview (Bryman, 2016).

Deception is another ethical consideration other than the ones mentioned above. The term deception refers to the researcher presenting their research as something other than it actually is. It is crucial that deception is avoided as it would violate the reputation of the investigation and make it invalid. _To resolve this ethical issue, the same strategy has been used as with informed consent, which is the preparation of a brief description of the research so that no misunderstandings can arise among the participants (Bryman, 2016).

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Lastly, the researcher has taken into consideration that they have certain assumptions about their research that could influence the procedures and outcomes, also known as conscious partiality. In this research, the researcher’s own political views and cultural values was taken into consideration. This problem has been solved by, firstly, making detailed notes about every decision that has been taken during this research. Also, having a clear structure and instructions regarding the different phases of the research has helped to clarify decisions. Secondly, the researcher is aware of their own assumptions and, therefore, can control their emotions and thoughts to not interfere with data and results (Bryman, 2016).

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4. Data presentation

The national policy “_{Wet Inburgering 2013}” states that refugees are responsible for their own integration process, i.e. the development of their own language skills and the finding of their own pathway into Dutch society. Furthermore, refugees are expected to bear their own costs with the possibility of taking out a loan, up to a maximum of 10.000 euros from DUO:

“The person integrating must take the initiative to at least acquire the necessary language skills and knowledge required to participate in society and must bear the costs him/herself.” [De inburgeraar dient zelf het initiatief te nemen om ten minste de taalvaardigheden en kennis te verwerven die nodig zijn voor deelname aan de samenleving en dient zelf de kosten hiervan te dragen] (Wi2013) - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019)

A mandatory component of the integration process is to pass an integration exam, which is expected to take place within 3 years of receiving refugee status, with a possible extension up to 5 year. In 2017, the 2013 national integration law was adjusted, giving municipalities the task to provide social assistance, i.e. assistance related to practical matters upon arrival, and including the participation declaration, wherein asylum seekers are introduced to the “core values” of Dutch society, as an integral part of the integration exam.

Municipalities have the ability to address the above changes freely within the framework set up by the national law:

“The frameworks are therefore set and as a municipality you have areas of policy freedom to arrange certain matters as you want in the municipality” [ De kaders worden dus vastgesteld en alleen als gemeente zijnde heb je gewoon altijd stukken beleidsvrijheid om het zo in te richting zoals je wilt in de gemeente] (G. Al Eshaq, policy advisor, May 14, 2019) - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019)

For this reason, Chapters 5 & 6 present an analysis of how the municipalities of Nijmegen and Almere have individually approached the integration of refugees in their municipality after the 2013 integration law, and how they implement the changes from the 2017 integration law. First of all, _the characteristics of the refugees in each of the municipalities will be briefly described _{. Secondly, the} municipals’ policy will be analysed. Thirdly, the integration results and the efficiency of their policies will be assessed.

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5. The Municipality of Nijmegen

In September 2018, the Municipality of Nijmegen counted a total of 1331 refugees that had registered from 2013 onwards. The largest group of refugees are Syrians (57%) followed by Eritreans (17%). Another characteristic concerning refugees in Nijmegen, is that 75% of them are younger than 35 years old, with barely any refugees older than 65. Moreover, 64% are male as compared to 36% that are female (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: Chapter 5).

5.1: What is their integration approach?

Policy advisor Golshid Al Eshaq from the Municipality of Nijmegen, responsible for the integration process of refugees within the municipality, revealed several limitations of the integration process in Nijmegen, and hence, the municipalities reaction to these restrictions.

An immediate critique on the 2013 _{Wet Inburgering was that it minimized the municipal role to help} newly integrating refugees because of its “laissez-faire” attitude. It is the Municipality of Nijmegen’s greatest frustration that there is a lack of structures supporting refugees with their integration progress, as the law moves the responsibility towards the individuals integrating themselves:

“...where we first had a very optimistic integration office in Nijmegen, where everything was arranged from within the municipality - the purchase of integration providers and internships and everything - suddenly the responsibility was placed entirely with the integrating citizen himself… ” [...waar wij eerst zeer optimistisch in Nijmegen een bureau inburgering hadden, waar alles uit de gemeente werd geregeld - met de inkoop van inburgering aanbieders en stages en alles - werd ineens de verantwoordelijkheid bij de inburgeraar zelf helemaal gelegd… ] (G. Al Eshaq, policy advisor, May 14th 2019) - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019 - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019)

The restriction imposed by the national law, was that they now lacked institutional structures and funding that would aid refugees to integrate, i.e. Golshid Al Eshaq refers to the 2013 law as being “wavy” because of the municipalities’ non-existent role within the law. The municipalities’ absence can be illustrated with an example of the finding of appropriate language schools. Refugees are required to follow language courses that will prepare them for their integration exam, however, the selection and funding of their schools is their own responsibility, which causes certain problems. Firstly, as the language schools are independent from the government, the municipality has no overview of the asylum seekers’ results and progress. Leading to the second issue, as refugees have the possibility to take out a 10,000 euro loan from DUO to, amongst other, sign up to integration courses, some refugees have no control over their spending, and therefore, in some cases end up spending all the money before even having completed their courses without the municipality being aware of this:

“... but there are also suppliers, naturalization suppliers, that aren’t always as good and sometimes signals are given too late, for example that a status holder has almost spent all of their DUO naturalization loan, but hasn’t passed the naturalization process yet.”[... maar er zijn ook aanbieders, inburgerings aanbieders, die niet altijd even goed zijn en soms dan krijg je te laat signalen binnen, dat bijvoorbeeld een inburgeraar dan bijna door al zijn DUO

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inburgering lening is, maar die inburgering nog niet heeft gehaald.] (G. Al Eshaq, policy advisor, 2019) - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019)

Through this system, debts are accumulated and the refugees’ integration process becomes at risk, i.e. because they haven’t reached the required language level. Consequently, the municipality is indirectly held responsible for these situations as it is expected to come forward with solutions since it is their responsibility to look after their inhabitants:

“Then they still look at the municipality, as in yes, municipality do you have a solution? Meanwhile we are not responsible, but of course we are for our inhabitants, so uhm yes … ” [Dan kijken ze toch de gemeente aan, van ja, gemeente heb je dan een oplossing? Terwijl wij daar niet voor verantwoordelijk zijn, maar wel natuurlijk voor onze inwoners, dus uhm ja, dat soort dingen](G. Al Eshaq, policy advisor, May 14th 2019) - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019 - Translation (Hannah Kay, 2019)

Therefore, the municipality has taken responsibility and devised their own plan in an effort to resolve and facilitate the integration process for refugees in Nijmegen. The plan was devised in 2016 and incorporated elements which were part of the changes carried out in the 2017 national integration law. 5.1.2: Implemented instruments

With the increasing numbers of refugees in 2014-2015, the Municipality of Nijmegen decided to create their own policy, or as they call it an action plan: _{Actieplan: Statushouder en dan … ?} 2016-2018. Their plan aims to ensure that all permit holders that settle in Nijmegen, between the ages of 18 and 65, receive appropriate guidance and support upon arrival, with the eventual goal that they can find their own independent waywithin society.Different instruments were set up in collaboration with NGOs, experts and inhabitants from within the municipality to support refugees’ integration process (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018).

The first instrument was implemented in 2017, named the _{Trajectregie, which intended to promote the} integration of refugees by providing social support where structural obstacles are encountered, for example, where administrative or legal issues arise. Six councilors ( _{traject regisseurs)} are responsible for the formulation of a personal plan with goals (referred to as the _POP[_{Persoonlijk ontwikkelplan}]) that include multiple facets of the integration process touching different areas of life, i.e. work, social life, health etc. Furthermore, the councilors are responsible for the monitoring and identification of the issues that arise throughout the process so these can be addressed in future cases. The instrument was commissioned by the municipality of Nijmegen, however, the actual implementation and monitoring is outsourced to three other organisations: _Bindkracht10, _{Bureau Wijland and VluchtelingenWerk} Oost-Nederland (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: 5; G. Al Eshaq, policy advisor, May 14th 2019).

The second instrument had as aim to widen the refugees’ social network and improve their language skills through the assigning of _{Networkbuddy’s}, i.e. by linking refugees with a voluntary buddy. Once again, this instrument has been realized by other NGOs and informal organisations, for instance STEP , Bindkracht10 and _{VluchtelingenWerk Oost-Nederland} (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: 5).

The third instrument is one that was enforced by the Dutch state, called the Participatieverklaringstraject (PVT), or also known as the participation declaration pathway, where

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permit holders are acquainted with the Dutch core values of freedom, equality, solidarity and participation. Permit holders are obliged to take part in the activities organised by their municipality. In the case of Nijmegen, these values are taught through group workshops and the signature of the declaration is a mandatory requirement at the end of the workshop. Herewith, the person declares that he/she is aware of the values and rules of Dutch society, respects them and wants to actively contribute to society. The workshops and courses are outsourced to _{VluchtelingenWerk} Oost-Nederland and the _{STEP foundation} (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: 5).

The fourth instrument concerns the provision of information on arrangements that have to be made as a Dutch citizen and as a citizen of Nijmegen. The _{Yalla foundation was set up through the creation of} a website, in collaboration with other partners in the city. The website ( _{www.welcometonijmegen.nl}) consisted of a digital handbook in multiple languages concerning all areas and procedures concerning the integration process and aimed at both refugees and the organizations involved in their integration process. As such, one straightforward guidebook of legal and practical matters was available (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: 6).

The fifth instrument, that was developed by _{Bindkracht10 with municipality funding, is a meeting} space for refugees, permit holders and volunteers, named_Gezellig. The purpose of this meeting space is that a “living-room vibe” creates a safe space where old inhabitants and newcomers can meet each other by taking part in various social activities, i.e. cooking or language training, and exchange information regarding their integration process (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018: 6).

The sixth instrument is a three year project, called _{The Next Step}, that received funding from the AMIF (Asylum-, Migration and Integration Fund) which was granted to the _{STEP foundation for} non-western asylum migrants who require additional support, through the means of extra courses and language buddies. The AMIF is a European Fund that is active between 2014-2020 and which seeks to: “ (..) promote the efficient management of migration flows and the implementation, strengthening and development of a common Union approach to asylum and immigration” (EU, 2019).

Other interventions and projects have also taken place, more specifically on the themes of work, income, education and health, as these are seen as the most important pillars to a successful integration process.

Regarding the area of work and income, the company _{Werkbedrijf and the Municipality of Nijmegen,} are working together to provide extra space for asylum applicants in order to facilitate their entry into the labour market or into an educational system, with the aim of helping them out of social benefits and making them independent (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018; WerkBedrijf Nijmegen, 2019). Furthermore, the municipality has identified, together with transition programs and with secondary vocational education (_MBO) facilities, that many refugees drop out due to various personal reasons. Therefore, the _{Potem-College and ROC Nijmegen have agreed to take on refugees and look at their} cases individually in order to find solutions to their specific problems, for example, several refugees abandoned their studies because of financial stress, and thus, solutions for special financial assistance are being found. Additionally, the municipality of Nijmegen uses the _{Screening & Matching tool, a} national tool, deploying regional coordinators to accelerate the integration and participation through the finding of a fast path into the education and labour market (Gemeente Nijmegen, 2018).

“Left or right oriented local governments - does it matter for refugee integration?” : how does the local political context affect the integration process of refugees in the Netherlands?