Reimagining “Integration” in the Light of the New Forms of Mobility

Abstract

There is a growing awareness in migration research that traditional interpretations and approaches to measuring and evaluating integration do not adequately fit the increasingly fluid and unpredictable patterns of migration observed today. Focusing on the transnational and liquid migration characteristic of Eastern European migrants, we propose a new conceptual framework that explains contemporary processes of migrant incorporation from the perspective of migrants themselves. Our model accounts for the “breadth and depth” of integration and contrasts deep integration and assimilation with functional adaptation, and integration into a certain group or network with integration into society as a whole. The analysis is based on comprehensive mixed-design research of Latvian migrants which includes a survey of 6,242 Latvian emigrants, as well as 15 in-depth interviews with internationally-mobile global talents. The bottom-up perspective that we employ sheds new light on how migrants themselves think about, and experience integration in their everyday lives.