[en] A body of literature has examined the role of ‘crises’ on policymaking. Yet, we observe that endogenous or exogenous events called ‘crisis-events’ are often randomly chosen as sweeping
explanations for reforms in migration and integration policy. Thus, we attempt to find answers for the question of how the latest financial and economic crisis affected policy-making in the area of migration and integration. We apply a combination of interestbased and ideas-based theories to the case of Belgium in order to question the role of crises in policy reforms in the field of migration and integration. Multiple political and economic crises have affected the country since 2007. Examining these crises and immigration politics we argue that electoral competition both
between and within the Francophone and Flemish party systems continues to be the main driver of migration and integration policy reform. Yet, we also discover a cumulative effect of economic and political crises: while the intention of restricting immigration has remained largely unchanged over the years, the policy instruments employed to reach this objective have changed with the political and economic crises.
Disciplines :
Sociology & social sciences
Author, co-author :
Gsir, Sonia ; Université de Liège > Faculté des sciences sociales > Faculté des sciences sociales
Lafleur, Jean-Michel ; Université de Liège > Faculté des sciences sociales > Centre d'études de l'ethnicité et des migrations (CEDEM)
Stanek, Mikolaj
Language :
English
Title :
Migration policy reforms in the context of economic and political crises: the case of Belgium
I.Adam,. 2013. “Immigrant Integration Policies of the Belgian Regions: Sub-state Nationalism and Policy Divergence after Devolution.” Regional & Federal Studies 23 (5): 547–569. doi:10.1080/13597566.2013.789024.
I.Adam,, and C.Torrekens. 2015. “Different Regional Approaches to Immigration Related Cultural Diversity. Interpreting the Belgian Cultural Diversity Policy Paradox.” Régionalimse et Fédéralisme (online only). http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1374-3864/index.php?id=1526.
F.Alink,, A.Boin, and P.T’Hart. 2001. “Institutional Crises and Reforms in Policy Sectors: The Case of Asylum Policy in Europe.” Journal of European Public Policy 8 (2): 286–306. doi:10.1080/13501760151146487.
C.Boswell,. 2007. “Theorizing Migration Policy: Is There a Third Way?” International Migration Review 41 (1): 75–100. doi:10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00057.x.
H.Bousetta,, S.Gsir, and D.Jacobs. 2007. “Belgium.” In European Immigration: A Sourcebook, edited by A.Triandafyllidou and R.Gropas, 33–44. Aldershot: Ashgate.
L.Cerna,. 2010. Policies and Practices of Highly Skilled Migration in Times of the Economic Crisis. International Migration Papers 99. Geneva: International Labor Organization. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—migrant/documents/publication/wcms_179666.pdf.
L.Cerna,. 2013. “Understanding the Diversity of EU Migration Policy in Practice: The Implementation of the Blue Card Initiative.” Policy Studies 34 (2): 180–200. doi:10.1080/01442872.2013.767587.
H.Coffé,. 2005. “Do Individual Factors Explain the Different Success of the Two Belgian Extreme Right Parties.” Acta Politica 40 (1): 74–93. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500078.
European Commission. 2014. Libre circulation: la Commission demande à la Belgique de respecter les règles de l'UE. Brussels: European Commission.
European Migration Network. 2013. Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Policy in Belgium 2012. Brussels: EMN-Belgian Contact Point. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/european_migration_network/reports/docs/annual-policy/2012/be_emn_policy_report_2012_-_final_en.pdf.
European Migration Network. 2014. Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Policy in Belgium 2013. Brussels: EMN-Belgian Contact Point. http://www.emnbelgium.be/sites/default/files/publications/be_policy_report_2013_on_migration_and_asylum_emn_0.pdf
G.Freeman,. 1995. “Modes of Immigration Politics in Liberal Democratic States.” International Migration Review 29 (4): 881–902. doi:10.2307/2547729.
A.George,, and A.Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: MIT Press.
P.A.Hall, 1993. “Policy Paradigms, Social Learning, and the State: The Case of Economic Policymaking in Britain.” Comparative Politics 25 (3): 275–296. doi:10.2307/422246.
P.A.Hall,, and R.Taylor. 1996. “Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms.” Political Studies 44: 936–957. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1996.tb00343.
J.Høj,. 2013. Enhancing the Inclusiveness of the Labour Market in Belgium. OECD Economic Department Working Paper (2013)1. Paris: OECD. http://www.oecd.org/eco/labour/2013-1.pdf.
J.Hollifield,. 2000. “The Politics of International Migration. How can we ‘Bring the State back in’?” In Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines, edited by C.Brettel and J.Hollifield, 137–185. London: Routledge.
D.Jacobs,. 1999. “The Debate Over Enfranchisement of Foreign Residents in Belgium.” Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies 25 (4): 649–663. doi:10.1080/1369183X.1999.9976708.
D.Jacobs,. 2004. “Alive and Kicking? Multiculturalism in Flanders.” International Journal on Multicultural Societies 6 (2): 280–299.
C.Joppke,. 1998. “Why Liberal States Accept Unwanted Migration.” World Politics 50 (2): 266–293. doi:10.1017/S004388710000811X.
R.Koopmans,, I.Michalowski, and S.Waibel. 2012. “Citizenship Rights for Immigrants: National Political Processes and Cross-National Convergence in Western Europe, 1980–2008.” American Journal of Sociology 117 (4): 1202–1245. doi:10.1086/662707.
C.Kuptsch, Ch. 2012. “The Economic Crisis and Labour Migration Policy in European Countries.” Comparative Population Studies 37 (1–2): 15–32. doi:10.4232/10.CPoS-2011-17en.
J.Legro,. 2000. “The Transformation of Policy Ideas.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (3): 419–432. doi:10.2307/2669256.
M.Martiniello,, A.Rea, C.Timmerman, and J.Wets, eds. 2010. Nouvelles migrations et nouveaux migrants en Belgique. Gent: Academia Press and Politique Scientifique Fédérale.
D.Massey,. 1999. “International Migration at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: The Role of the State.” Political and Development Review 25 (2): 303–322. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.1999.00303.x.
J.Money,. 1999. Fences and Neighbors: The Political Geography of Immigration Control in Advanced Market Economy Countries. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
H.Mormont,, and J.-F.Neven. 2014. “Le droit à l’aide sociale et le droit à l’intégration sociale en faveur des étrangers: questions d’actualité.” In Questions spéciales de droit social Hommage à Michel Dumont, edited by J.Clesse and J.Hubin, 13–172. Bruxelles: Larcier.
P.Muller,, and Y.Surel. 1998. L’analyse des politiques publiques. Paris: Montchrestien.
N.Mussche,, V.Corluy, and I.Marx. 2013. “Migrant Access to Social Security – Policy and Practice in Belgium.” Study for the Belgian National Contact Point of the European Migration Network. Brussels: European Commission. http://www.emnbelgium.be/publication/migrant-access-social-security-policy-and-practice-belgium-and-eu-emn.
K.Nelson,. 2011. Improving the Efficiency of Social Protection. Brussels: European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/social/images/icons/pdf.gif
D.Nohrsted,, and C.M.WeibleCh. M. 2010. “The Logic of Policy Change after Crisis: Proximity and Subsystem Interaction.” Risk, Hazards, & Crisis in Public Policy 1 (2): 1–32. doi:10.2202/1944-4079.1035.
H.Obinger,, P.Starke, J.Moser, C.Bogedan, E.Gindulis, and S.Leibfried. 2010. Transformations of the Welfare State: Small States, Big Lessons. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Office des Etrangers. 2008. Rapports d’activités 2008. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
Office des Etrangers. 2009. Rapports d’activités 2009. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
Office des Etrangers. 2010. Rapports d’activités 2010. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
Office des Etrangers. 2011. Rapports d’activités 2011. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
Office des Etrangers. 2012. Rapports d’activités 2012. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
Office des Etrangers. 2013. Rapports d’activités 2013. Bruxelles: SPF Intérieur.
D.Papademetriou,, M.Sumption, and W.Somerville. 2009. Migration and the Economic Downturn: What to Expect in the European Union. Migration Policy Institute Working Paper. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migration-and-economic-downturn-what-expect-european-union.
D.Papademetriou,, and A.Terrazas. 2009. Immigrants and the Current Economic Crisis: Research Evidence, Policy Challenges, and Implications. Migration Policy Institute Working Paper. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/lmi_recessionJan09.pdf.
M.Poulain,, and N.Perrin. 2002. “The Demographic Characteristics of Immigrant Populations in Belgium.” In The Demographic Characteristics of Immigrant Populations, edited by W.Haug, P.Compton, and Y.Courbage, 57–130. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
A.Rea,. 2006. “Les politiques d’immigration: des migrations ordonnées aux migrations débridées.” In Penser l’Immigration autrement. Une initiative belge inter-universitaire, edited by B.Khader, M.Martiniello, A.Rea, and C.Timmerman, 177–207. Bruxelles: Bruylant.
B.Rihoux,, P.Dumont, L.De Winter, S.Deruette, and D.Bol. 2011. “Belgium.” European Journal of Political Research 50 (7–8): 913–921. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.02013.x.
RTL Info. 2013. Maggie De Block: ‘Il faut éviter que des gens profitent de notre système social’. Brussels: RLT. http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/politique/maggie-de-block-il-faut-eviter-que-des-gens-profitent-de-notre-systeme-social-video--396658.aspx
S.Troupin,, J.Stroobants, and S.Trui. 2013. “The Impact of the Fiscal Crisis on Belgian Federal Government: Changes in the Budget Decision Making Process and Intra-governmental Relations.” Paper presented at the Conference on the Impact of the financial crisis on public administration, Tallinn, May 3–4.
J.Watts, 2002. Immigration Policy and the Challenge of Globalization. Unions and Employers in Unlikely Alliance. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press.
