Implementing Citizenship, Nationality and Integration Policies
The UK and Belgium in Comparative Perspective
By Djordje Sredanovic
Published
31 Jan 2022Page count
174 pagesISBN
978-1529219883Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
31 Jan 2022Page count
174 pagesISBN
978-1529219890Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
31 Jan 2022Page count
174 pagesISBN
978-1529219890Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Implementing Citizenship, Nationality and Integration Policies
In this incisive analysis, Sredanovic compares and contrasts the experiences of citizenship and integration policies in the UK and Belgium.
In-depth interviews with officials illuminate both the everyday application of approaches to citizenship and integration, and their evolution in recent years. By examining the levels of discretion that exist within the two countries’ systems, this book explores the variations within the implementation processes.
The first comparative work of its kind, this book goes beyond the analysis of legislation to explore how citizenship and integration policies are applied on the frontline.
"In this striking book, Sredanovic sheds new light on the central role played by the implementation processes of citizenship and integration policies. This is a powerful demonstration of how discretion and institutional organization produce variations." Andrea Rea, Université Libre de Bruxelles
"The wealth of empirical material in Sredanovic’s book paints a wonderful picture of the complex implementation of naturalization procedures. It offers a welcome contribution to understanding the workings of discretion in different legal and political contexts." Jelena Džankić, European University Institute
“This distinctive book uncovers how the meaning of integration changes at the point of implementing policy, and tracks how discretion and diverging interpretations of the law can hinder but also help migrants seeking citizenship status.” Anne-Marie Fortier, Lancaster University
Djordje Sredanovic is an FNRS postdoctoral fellow at the Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
1. Introduction
Citizenship and integration: rights and inequality
Cultural conformity and legal guarantees: citizenship and integration in Europe
Implementation: law in action
Method
Contents of the book
2. Citizenship in the UK
History and policy: discretion and cultural conformity
Nationality Checking Services: citizenship on the territory
Citizenship implementation in the Home Office
Conclusion: cultural conformity, discretion and routinization
3. Nationality in Belgium
History and policy: cultural conformity and the documentary approach
Parquets, registers and the implementation of nationality
Geographic variation
Conclusion: not much discretion, but not much uniformity either
4. Integration in Belgium
History and policy: separate models of integration
CRIs and the implementation of integration in Wallonia
The determination of individual needs
Conclusion: integration, uncertainty and flexibility
5. Comparative Analyses
Migration policies behind the frontline
The spaces of discretion
Factors of variation
Conclusion: how applying the law changes it
6. Conclusions
Political implications
The future of citizenship and integration
Policy recommendations
