The Finnish reception system and a local perspective on integration

Abstract

The chapter outlines the governance of the asylum reception system in Finland including an analysis of the local implementation of policies. The chapter analyses the formal separation between reception and integration and the setting up of reception facilities from a local perspective. In Finland, reception and integration are formally two different areas of practice, with the state responsible for reception measures and the municipalities responsible for integration measures. The policy-making structure of the national reception system in Finland can be described as a centralised state-led system with top-down decision-making, in which the municipalities and civil society are key partners in the implementation processes, but they can only indirectly influence the governance of the reception system. Thus, the Finnish reception system involves structural conflicts of interest between local and national perspectives, which are strengthened by the legal and administrative division of reception and integration into two different areas of practice. Yet, the results of two local case studies suggest that multilevel policy dynamics may develop from the agency of local authorities and civil society, a development which may occur independently of formal structures of the reception system.