Abstract
The ethnic diversity of modern states raises the question of where successful countries are in terms of immigrant inclusion. The number of immigrants in Iceland has increased significantly since 2004, and by the end of 2016, immigrants made up around 10% of the population of Iceland. Research reveals a gap between immigrants and natives in terms of social and political inclusion. This paper examines the social and political integration of male and female immigrants in Iceland via comparisons with the native population. We ask how native Icelanders and people with a non-Icelandic background experience their social position and political participation within Icelandic society. We focus on political efficacy, ideas about what makes a good citizen, and subjective status position as indicators of the degree of social and political integration. We use data from the 2014 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) on Citizenship, which is based on a random sample of 2,000 individuals and random samples of 600 individuals each targeting two of the largest immigrant groups in Iceland—Lithuanians and Poles—as well as the largest Asian immigrant group: Filipinos. Although the findings show integration of immigrants up to a certain extent, the differences between Icelandic and non-Icelandic participants are apparent and include certain disadvantages for participants with a foreign background. Although other variables—such as income, education, paid employment status, and age—play a larger role in social and political status than foreign nationality, the findings of this study suggest that there is room to improve the integration of immigrants in Iceland.
Highlights
Iceland, like many other countries, relies heavily on an immigrant workforce
Iceland has been lagging behind in the theoretical and practical debates surrounding the civic integration of immigrants, which has long been a priority in Western Europe (Joppke 2017) and in the Nordic countries (Borevi et al 2017; Simonsen 2017)
We focus on political efficacy, which is an indicator of the degree of political integration
Summary
Like many other countries, relies heavily on an immigrant workforce. immigrants have long been seen as a temporary workforce in Iceland, representing numbers so small that they could be neglected in official policy making. In the last decade, with the rise of the immigrant population in Iceland, have there been policies in place concerning the integration of immigrants into Icelandic society (Félagsmálaráðuneytið 2007) These policies became necessary as the number of immigrants in Iceland increased significantly, from 1.4% of the population in 1980 to 8% in 2016 (Statistics Iceland 2017). Immigration to Iceland is still predominantly work-related, it is considered to be more often permanent than temporary This became apparent during the financial crisis of 2008, when the majority of foreign workers decided to stay in Iceland rather than return to their home countries, even if they had lost their jobs (Garðarsdóttir & Bjarnason 2010). The swift and steep increase in foreign labor is testing Iceland’s ability to secure social and political integration
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