Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION
MIGRATION:
‣ Migration is neither good nor bad, it just ‘is’ (Francois Héran)
o A lot of discours about how migration is “bad” → But migration just is
‣ Involves many disciplines and areas of life: sociological, demographic, political, economic, …
‣ Sociological imagination (C.W. Mills)
o Imagine a forest
o The trees = individuals (personal troubles, choices, experiences)
o The forest = society (public issues, structures, institutions, history)
o Sociological imagination = seeing how the forest shapes the trees and how trees
together create the forest
o = problemen op microniveau zien en linken aan bredere overkoepelende instituties,
policies, etc. op macroniveau
Migration in academia:
‣ Traditionally: migration as an element of regulating population size → focus on host country
o Questions about integration, contributing to the new country, …
‣ Recently: focus on the movement/circulation itself
o Not only from the perspective of the host country
o But also the descending country, people who actually migrate
o Seeing the migrant as connected to more than one culture
o Beginning of transnationalism: acknowledging that people who migrate have links
with their country of origin, people are connected to their country of origin (ex.
sending money to home country) → has an impact on policies, changes the experience
Who is an international migrant?
‣ Majority of migration is within-country migration (labour migration) → US as the largest
country of in-country migration, also in the EU (shenghen migration)
‣ International migrant = “Somebody who moved and lives in a country outside of their
country of birth, for at least 12 months” (definition of UN International Organization for
Migration)
‣ Some popular additions:
o Is born outside of their current country of residence
o Crossed a national border
o Moved with the intention to settle
‣ Migratie is alles waarbij mensen zich verplaatsen naar een ander land
o Asylum (looking for a refugee status) / refugees (already have status)
o Moving for work/family/…
Migration is a human constant
‣ Great migration: 60 000 – 70 000 years ago: people moved for different reasons (mostly
climate changes, food, expanding groups, resources, …)
‣ Colonialism (starting 1492)
o 12% of Europeans migrated: mostly US, some to Latin America, North Africa,
Australia and New Zealand
o 41% of Britain population left British Isles
o Before WWII: usually Europeans who migrated between 1846 - 1924 (when talking
about migration)
,Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
‣ Within Europe: waves of migration of Poles, Purtugese, Italians, Spanish people (1911 –
1970): to France, then Belgium (wave in France of xenophobia)
‣ So a lot of movement within Europe already!
‣ Trends change with context, history, technology, needs, … → migration patterns change too
We move, however we don’t move that much
‣ 3,6% of the world population migrate (max 5%) → majority is legal, for family/work/…
‣ The numbers are increasing (280 million in 2020) yes, but the world population is also
increasing
Where do people migrate?
‣ The majority of people of Sub-Saharan Africa stays in Sub-Saharan Africa (wrong discourse in
the media) → a lot of internal migration between countries
‣ A lot of migration to the Gulf (one of the biggest migration trends!)
‣ Mexico → US
‣ Regional migrations (a lot of migration to neighbouring countries)
‣ North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, …) usually go north, not south
Why do so few people migrate?
‣ Term of “Migration hump” (based on national income)
o Low income: few can afford to migrate (Chad, South Sudan, Niger, Yemen)
→ you have to have resources to migrate (own resources of from the family who send
one person who then tries to make it in the new country and send resources to their
home)
o Middle income (lower-middle): emigration peaks (the top of the hump) (still rising in
Guatemala, Pakistan, Morocco) → majority of migration happens here !
o High income: emigration falls, countries shift toward immigration (on the down slope
– Mexico, Turkey) → national income rises / families have more resources to afford
migration → no migration, because there is ‘no need’ to migrate → less people who
feel they need to migrate
o Full slope examples: Italy, Spain, Portugal (they were the emigration countries, now
they became an immigration country), same with Greece, Korea, China and Brazil
,Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
‣ Role of Diasporas
o Diaspora = verspreiding van een volk waarbij de mensen een link/connectie (culturele
identiteit, banden, …) behouden met hun land van herkomst
o Role in the transnational perspective
o People go to a country, settle, organize → next people comes in and they already
know some things from the first people who settles
o A lot of upward mobility
o If the Diasporas are significant, then people from the diaspora create a living
→ create a labour market
o Also creates questions about integration
EU migration and population:
‣ 5% of Belgian population is from a third country nationality (this includes all third country
nationals = people who are not from Belgium)
‣ EU population: 449,3 million
‣ Regular immigration (= documented, ‘legal’ migration):
o 4,3 million non-EU immigrants → 0,96% of the EU population
o 1,5 million intra-EU movers → 0,33%
‣ Irregular immigration (= undocumented, ‘illegal’ migration):
o 239 000 irregular border crossings detected (2024) → 0,05%
o 1,3 million non-EU citizens illegally present (2023) → 0,29%
Is integration ‘failed’?
‣ Angela Merkel: “German multiculturalism has utterly failed” (2010)
‣ Farage: “Why multiculturalism has failed in Britain, France and other countries” (2015)
‣ Assimilation: once you come to a country, you have to completely take on the culture, the
language, … → get rid of your own culture
‣ Multiculturalism: new idea that we can all bring our own identities, cultures, …
→ nourish the country
Will European societies succeed in integrating their migrant populations / ethnic minorities?
‣ Who do we mean? Non-European societies?
‣ What does it mean to ‘integrate’? Mainstream definition of integration focuses more on
cultural integration
‣ Fixed groups: are they really fixed groups? → “superdiversity”: you can no longer talk about
fixed groups → the migration patterns are from all over → all groups, trends, context, …
change over time → also: a lot of variation in the group (different types of income, age,
religion, …) → rekening houden voor de policy
‣ “Integration” = normal
‣ People who migrate are integrating because they look for a better life
‣ Right now: so many second-third-generations → integration is normal
, Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
Aspects of integration:
Having the same access that leads to social mobility (ex. jobs,
Structural integration
property, education, …)
Social integration Bonds between groups/networks (ex. itermarriage)
Do people see each other as part of the same group? Belonging, do I
Identification integration
feel Belgian? Identity
Cultural integration Having the same cultural values, language, practices, …
‣ Integration pessimism?
o Focusing on numbers about how migrants are less educated, less employed, …
‣ Integration optimism?
o People are marrying co-ethnically: not bringing somebody from outside, but from the
same diaspora
o Second-generation are moving out of the diaspora’s → residential segregation
▪ Integrate more deeply into society
▪ Show higher level of educational attainment, employment and political
participation
o However: challenges for third and later generations → regarding identity and
belonging → cultural markers can create tension between the homeland and the host
society
o Integration is a gradual process influenced by state policies (citizenship laws, labor
market access, …) & influenced by the migrants’ social network and resources
CONCLUSION:
‣ Only 3,6% of the global population migrates → most is regional
‣ There is no logic to migration: “migration hump”
‣ The biggest directions are not necessarily towards Europe
‣ The majority of migration is legal
‣ Integration is a norm but does face challenges
‣ Modern economy requires (cheap) labour migration → ethnic stratification
‣ Migrant population wants to move up (takes time)
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION
MIGRATION:
‣ Migration is neither good nor bad, it just ‘is’ (Francois Héran)
o A lot of discours about how migration is “bad” → But migration just is
‣ Involves many disciplines and areas of life: sociological, demographic, political, economic, …
‣ Sociological imagination (C.W. Mills)
o Imagine a forest
o The trees = individuals (personal troubles, choices, experiences)
o The forest = society (public issues, structures, institutions, history)
o Sociological imagination = seeing how the forest shapes the trees and how trees
together create the forest
o = problemen op microniveau zien en linken aan bredere overkoepelende instituties,
policies, etc. op macroniveau
Migration in academia:
‣ Traditionally: migration as an element of regulating population size → focus on host country
o Questions about integration, contributing to the new country, …
‣ Recently: focus on the movement/circulation itself
o Not only from the perspective of the host country
o But also the descending country, people who actually migrate
o Seeing the migrant as connected to more than one culture
o Beginning of transnationalism: acknowledging that people who migrate have links
with their country of origin, people are connected to their country of origin (ex.
sending money to home country) → has an impact on policies, changes the experience
Who is an international migrant?
‣ Majority of migration is within-country migration (labour migration) → US as the largest
country of in-country migration, also in the EU (shenghen migration)
‣ International migrant = “Somebody who moved and lives in a country outside of their
country of birth, for at least 12 months” (definition of UN International Organization for
Migration)
‣ Some popular additions:
o Is born outside of their current country of residence
o Crossed a national border
o Moved with the intention to settle
‣ Migratie is alles waarbij mensen zich verplaatsen naar een ander land
o Asylum (looking for a refugee status) / refugees (already have status)
o Moving for work/family/…
Migration is a human constant
‣ Great migration: 60 000 – 70 000 years ago: people moved for different reasons (mostly
climate changes, food, expanding groups, resources, …)
‣ Colonialism (starting 1492)
o 12% of Europeans migrated: mostly US, some to Latin America, North Africa,
Australia and New Zealand
o 41% of Britain population left British Isles
o Before WWII: usually Europeans who migrated between 1846 - 1924 (when talking
about migration)
,Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
‣ Within Europe: waves of migration of Poles, Purtugese, Italians, Spanish people (1911 –
1970): to France, then Belgium (wave in France of xenophobia)
‣ So a lot of movement within Europe already!
‣ Trends change with context, history, technology, needs, … → migration patterns change too
We move, however we don’t move that much
‣ 3,6% of the world population migrate (max 5%) → majority is legal, for family/work/…
‣ The numbers are increasing (280 million in 2020) yes, but the world population is also
increasing
Where do people migrate?
‣ The majority of people of Sub-Saharan Africa stays in Sub-Saharan Africa (wrong discourse in
the media) → a lot of internal migration between countries
‣ A lot of migration to the Gulf (one of the biggest migration trends!)
‣ Mexico → US
‣ Regional migrations (a lot of migration to neighbouring countries)
‣ North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, …) usually go north, not south
Why do so few people migrate?
‣ Term of “Migration hump” (based on national income)
o Low income: few can afford to migrate (Chad, South Sudan, Niger, Yemen)
→ you have to have resources to migrate (own resources of from the family who send
one person who then tries to make it in the new country and send resources to their
home)
o Middle income (lower-middle): emigration peaks (the top of the hump) (still rising in
Guatemala, Pakistan, Morocco) → majority of migration happens here !
o High income: emigration falls, countries shift toward immigration (on the down slope
– Mexico, Turkey) → national income rises / families have more resources to afford
migration → no migration, because there is ‘no need’ to migrate → less people who
feel they need to migrate
o Full slope examples: Italy, Spain, Portugal (they were the emigration countries, now
they became an immigration country), same with Greece, Korea, China and Brazil
,Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
‣ Role of Diasporas
o Diaspora = verspreiding van een volk waarbij de mensen een link/connectie (culturele
identiteit, banden, …) behouden met hun land van herkomst
o Role in the transnational perspective
o People go to a country, settle, organize → next people comes in and they already
know some things from the first people who settles
o A lot of upward mobility
o If the Diasporas are significant, then people from the diaspora create a living
→ create a labour market
o Also creates questions about integration
EU migration and population:
‣ 5% of Belgian population is from a third country nationality (this includes all third country
nationals = people who are not from Belgium)
‣ EU population: 449,3 million
‣ Regular immigration (= documented, ‘legal’ migration):
o 4,3 million non-EU immigrants → 0,96% of the EU population
o 1,5 million intra-EU movers → 0,33%
‣ Irregular immigration (= undocumented, ‘illegal’ migration):
o 239 000 irregular border crossings detected (2024) → 0,05%
o 1,3 million non-EU citizens illegally present (2023) → 0,29%
Is integration ‘failed’?
‣ Angela Merkel: “German multiculturalism has utterly failed” (2010)
‣ Farage: “Why multiculturalism has failed in Britain, France and other countries” (2015)
‣ Assimilation: once you come to a country, you have to completely take on the culture, the
language, … → get rid of your own culture
‣ Multiculturalism: new idea that we can all bring our own identities, cultures, …
→ nourish the country
Will European societies succeed in integrating their migrant populations / ethnic minorities?
‣ Who do we mean? Non-European societies?
‣ What does it mean to ‘integrate’? Mainstream definition of integration focuses more on
cultural integration
‣ Fixed groups: are they really fixed groups? → “superdiversity”: you can no longer talk about
fixed groups → the migration patterns are from all over → all groups, trends, context, …
change over time → also: a lot of variation in the group (different types of income, age,
religion, …) → rekening houden voor de policy
‣ “Integration” = normal
‣ People who migrate are integrating because they look for a better life
‣ Right now: so many second-third-generations → integration is normal
, Migration and integration 2025 - 2026
Aspects of integration:
Having the same access that leads to social mobility (ex. jobs,
Structural integration
property, education, …)
Social integration Bonds between groups/networks (ex. itermarriage)
Do people see each other as part of the same group? Belonging, do I
Identification integration
feel Belgian? Identity
Cultural integration Having the same cultural values, language, practices, …
‣ Integration pessimism?
o Focusing on numbers about how migrants are less educated, less employed, …
‣ Integration optimism?
o People are marrying co-ethnically: not bringing somebody from outside, but from the
same diaspora
o Second-generation are moving out of the diaspora’s → residential segregation
▪ Integrate more deeply into society
▪ Show higher level of educational attainment, employment and political
participation
o However: challenges for third and later generations → regarding identity and
belonging → cultural markers can create tension between the homeland and the host
society
o Integration is a gradual process influenced by state policies (citizenship laws, labor
market access, …) & influenced by the migrants’ social network and resources
CONCLUSION:
‣ Only 3,6% of the global population migrates → most is regional
‣ There is no logic to migration: “migration hump”
‣ The biggest directions are not necessarily towards Europe
‣ The majority of migration is legal
‣ Integration is a norm but does face challenges
‣ Modern economy requires (cheap) labour migration → ethnic stratification
‣ Migrant population wants to move up (takes time)
