{"id":267967,"date":"2020-03-03T11:31:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T16:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T22:51:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T02:51:38","slug":"is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twenty years ago, on 4 February 2000<\/a>, Austria\u2019s Freedom Party became perhaps the first far-right party to enter a government in post-Second World War Europe by joining the governing coalition. Outrage and international measures against Austria swiftly followed, from fellow European Union (EU) member states as well as the United States and Israel. However, the response was completely different almost two decades later when the Freedom Party, in 2017, joined another Austrian coalition \u2013 news that this time passed nearly unnoticed<\/a>. What does this apparent tolerance for far-right politics mean for immigration and integration?<\/p>\n

It seems today, the far right has become quite normal, if not mainstream, with far-right parties rising in popularity in several European countries. These include France\u2019s Front National and Lega Nord in Italy (now renamed Lega to broaden appeal) but also Vox in Spain and Golden Dawn in Greece \u2013 even if the latter seems almost extinct after its disastrous electoral result in the summer 2019 national vote.<\/p>\n

One central concern that unites all of these parties is immigration. European far-right parties blame migrants as the source of all problems, from unemployment to crime to the erosion of an \u201cauthentic\u201d national culture. They present themselves as the real \u201cpatriots\u201d who defend the homeland and the nation from these \u201cinvaders.\u201d Attention is usually focused on their anti-immigration agendas with regard to new inflows and asylum seekers, with less interest or concern about their views and policies on integration of existing migrants. The failure of Italy to pass a citizenship reform law<\/a>, despite seven years of parliamentary debates between 2012 and 2019, demonstrates how the far-right can influence the integration agenda \u2013 both while in government and as opposition parties. Increasingly, progressive parties fear losing votes by showing themselves as too \u201cpro-immigrant\u201d or not sufficiently \u201cpatriotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond citizenship \u2013 which can be seen as a more long-term, constitutional objective \u2013 the impact of the rise of nationalist, far-right populism can be felt indirectly, when it comes to welfare rights. A case in point is the recent bill passed in the Greek parliament, which introduced important allowances for families who have a new baby born after January 1, 2020. It requires non-citizen families to prove 12 years of legal residence in the country prior to the baby\u2019s birth. <\/a>This is indeed incongruent with Greek nationality laws, which require seven years of legal residence before applying for naturalization. It is also a much lengthier residency requirement than the five years needed for a non-EU citizen to apply for EU long-term resident status (the rough equivalent to a Canadian permanent residency).<\/p>\n

One wonders whether we are heading toward the mainstreaming of exclusion rather than the mainstreaming of migrant integration, a point that immigration scholars have been analysing. For example, only three years ago, Maurizio Ambrosini from the University of Milan was arguing<\/a> that European cities were reshaping the national integration landscape by mainstreaming migrant integration. Using research focused on Brussels, Florence, Frankfurt, Genoa, Madrid, Manchester, Marseille and Verona, Ambrosini showed how these cities adopted a variety of strategies to de-ethnicise policies of social protection, such as measures to prevent quitting school early, or measures to address housing problems. Ambrosini showed that the strategies adopted by different cities were often low-key, aiming at low-visibility or adaptive continuity, seemingly to avoid grand, attention-getting statements on multiculturalism or diversity.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Ilona van Breugel and Peter Scholten<\/a> from the Netherlands highlighted how the mainstreaming of social policies in France, the UK and the Netherlands aimed at tackling problems in a holistic manner through, for instance, the \u201czones prioritaires\u201d in France, or the city citizenship in Amsterdam<\/a> and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In these approaches, the focus was on poverty, unemployment, early school-leaving and on socioeconomic features such as parents\u2019 education level, rather than on immigrant or foreign-born status. Van Breugel and Scholten cautioned that such mainstreaming at the municipal level depended significantly on the political will of a given city government and could alter if the government changed and support for migrant communities became less of a priority.<\/p>\n

Researchers and policy-makers have emphasised the important role played by a vibrant civil society sector<\/a> in supporting and implementing migrant integration policies. One wonders, however, what the future holds, given this rising tide of far-right political parties across Europe, a trend that increasingly legitimises both a legislative and a social media campaign against civil society, such as that experienced in Italy<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n

Thus, it seems reasonable to ask whether, instead of the mainstreaming of integration, we are facing today the mainstreaming of exclusion in Europe, in the name of an ill-advised \u201cpatriotism.\u201d Are we indeed heading toward an impasse? While our societies are becoming increasingly diverse, a new form of \u201ctribal nationalism<\/a>\u201d is gaining ground, predicated on an \u201corganic\u201d understanding of the nation as homogenous, compact, and with no place for diversity.<\/p>\n

This article is part of the\u00a0Ensuring inclusive prosperity when all boats aren\u2019t being lifted<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>special feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0People protest in Vienna, Austria, in December 2017 as the far-right Freedom Party joins the coalition government of Austria.\u00a0Shutterstock by\u00a0Inspired By Maps<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it.\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ?\u00a0<\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty years ago, on 4 February 2000, Austria\u2019s Freedom Party became perhaps the first far-right party to enter a government in post-Second World War Europe by joining the governing coalition. Outrage and international measures against Austria swiftly followed, from fellow European Union (EU) member states as well as the United States and Israel. However, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":277005,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T02:51:41Z","apple_news_api_id":"8b08efe1-8b05-4cd3-9376-ce0d88f51c53","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T02:51:41Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Aiwjv4YsFTNOTds4NiPUcUw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9360,9358,9372],"tags":[8741],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4217,4295],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-267967","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-politique","category-recent-stories-fr","tag-union-europeenne","irpp-category-affaires-internationales","irpp-category-politique"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Twenty years ago, on 4 February 2000, Austria\u2019s Freedom Party became perhaps the first far-right party to enter a government in post-Second World War Europe by joining the governing coalition. Outrage and international measures against Austria swiftly followed, from fellow European Union (EU) member states as well as the United States and Israel. However, the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Policy Options\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T02:51:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@irpp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/\",\"name\":\"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-03T16:31:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T02:51:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"Policy Options\",\"description\":\"Institute for Research on Public Policy\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/policyoptions.irpp.org\\\/fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?","og_description":"Twenty years ago, on 4 February 2000, Austria\u2019s Freedom Party became perhaps the first far-right party to enter a government in post-Second World War Europe by joining the governing coalition. Outrage and international measures against Austria swiftly followed, from fellow European Union (EU) member states as well as the United States and Israel. However, the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/","og_site_name":"Policy Options","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org","article_modified_time":"2025-10-08T02:51:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@irpp","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/","name":"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-03T16:31:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-08T02:51:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Is-Europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion-1.jpg","width":2000,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/03\/is-europe-moving-away-from-integration-toward-exclusion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Europe moving away from integration toward exclusion?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/","name":"Policy Options","description":"Institute for Research on Public Policy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues\/267967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issues"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267967"},{"taxonomy":"article-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-status?post=267967"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-category?post=267967"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=267967"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-tag?post=267967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}