Abstract
This paper focuses on three different ‘Communications’ issued by the European Commission between 2007 and 2011 that inform, frame, and constitute contemporary European Union immigration policy. Drawing on a theoretical framework that calls attention to the embeddedness of cultural ideas and notions in economic dimensions of society, the analysis first emphasizes the naturalized link in the Communications between the need for integration and specific immigrants whose cultures are marked as fundamentally different. Second, it shows how lack of cultural integration is intrinsically connected in these documents to an economic understanding of ‘otherness’, since it is made salient as an obstacle in immigrants’ path toward upward mobility, and thus as a threat to social cohesion. This, I argue, creates an irresolvable paradox that positions undesirable immigrants as simultaneously in need of and ineligible for integration measures.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
