Narrativizing the self: how do the migrant experiences matter for joint belongingness?

Abstract

The fundamental principles of integration are increasingly criticized while indicator-informed-integration (III) remains an aspiration for policymakers. In contrast, we argue that integration and in particular its social variant cannot be measured through indicators. It is even a fallacy to qualify one's integration journey through indicators. Instead, migrant integration is an everyday phenomenon that relates to the course of one's life in their new home country. We propose that we need to understand the narratives that this process involves and the intimacies and convivial experiences that it generates. Our main argument is that migration or integration research should pay more attention to the foundations of social interactions covering their essence, processes, and nature that make the migrant and established communities communicate with each other. The data for this article originate from an EU-funded multi-national research project looking into joint belongingness and migration including young people.