Blog
By:
  • Tomás Yelmini

Imagine a person who arrives with their suitcase in a new place, where they know no one and where everything is unfamiliar to them. From that moment, they begin an extensive process of integration into their surrounding society until, one day, they manage to blend in. Now, finally, they feel at home.

Although it is a simplistic scene that condenses approaches to migration and assimilation that have long since been discarded in the academic world, it is still a widespread characterization in the public opinion about the life and efforts of a migrant person. But what happens if in the host community that receives this person there is not a deep-rooted and homogeneous culture, but rather the opposite?

That is the very question sociologist and Distinguished Professor at the Free University of Amsterdam Maurice Crul asked himself in his most recent study on migration and minorities. And his first reaction was to reconfirm that this mid-20th century idea is indeed obsolete in today's dynamic and connected world, where ethnic and racial majority groups have neither the volume nor the dominance of their community that characterized other times, particularly in large cities.

Examples abound: the most important capitals of Europe are characterized more than ever by their multiculturalism, and here in the Americas it is inevitable to think of Canada, a country accustomed to receiving migrants, but which has seen this phenomenon grow to the point that today almost a quarter of its population was born in another territory (according to the 2021 census, more than 8.3 million of its 35.1 million inhabitants). 

Thus, Crul proposed a new work that he published this year and that he considers an evolution of previous notions on assimilation processes: the Integration into Diversity Theory, which joins other studies of this era that argue that it is impossible to continue to support the idea of a minority group inserting itself into a dominant nucleus almost as if asking for permission, in silence and without room to make its contributions. Now everyone learns from everyone, he assures. Even those who used to be part of a hegemonic majority. 

Given this panorama, Crul asks how the former majority adapts to the ethnic and racial diversity that was not there before and now surrounds it. And of course there is no single answer, but to summarize some possible results, he drew up a table that he called the matrix of the integration into diversity theory, in which he proposes nine possible subgroups to understand the different attitudes and social practices that may arise in relation to integration. 

 Those who are more integrated are part of a more heterogeneous network and understand that migration-related diversity is ultimately an enriching opportunity. At the other extreme, there may be people who feel migration processes as a threat, preferring to remain in a more homogeneous social circle. 

The good news is that, although there will always be exceptions that will remain immovable, the trend is that as their living and working environments become more diverse, people will gradually move from red to green, i.e. they will no longer feel safe in less integrated subgroups and will accept plurality as the norm. 

What are the benefits? This favors a more inclusive coexistence and reduces social tensions, creating the conditions for migrants to reach their full transformative potential and contribute to the development of society and the economy.

Of course, changes cannot be expected overnight; integration in diversity and assimilation imply a profound change in the social dynamics of each community, and this applies not only to migrants, but also to those who have been part of the majority in the past. Therefore, far from being a process in which some adapt and others remain unchanged, it is more than ever a joint evolution. 

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The IOM developed a Toolkit for the development of policies for the integration and socioeconomic reintegration of migrants. We invite you to explore it and access resources to diagnose, design, implement, monitor and evaluate the construction of sustainable interventions in this area.