Measuring Residential Segregation's Impact on German Refugee Integration

Faculty Mentor: Phillip Ayoub, Diplomacy & World Affairs Department

Major: Diplomacy & World Affairs

Funding: Paul K. Richter and Evalyn Elizabeth Cook Richter Memorial Funds

Abstract:

This research design seeks to investigate residential segregation’s impact on the integration of refugees in their new host society. Specifically, I am researching this topic within the context of Germany after the 2015 migration wave of asylum seekers from North Africa and the Middle East. My research question asks if the presence of residential segregation regarding the housing of a country’s refugee population negatively or positively impact the overall integration of refugees into the host society? The research design is structured as follows: I present background information on refugee movement and the 2015 migration wave towards Europe, along with an analysis of the accompanying socio-political rhetoric at the time. I then introduce and establish the concepts of refugee integration and residential segregation. Following this is the literature review, which identifies three consistent themes present and three recurring gaps within the literature. The failure to properly distinguish refugees from the general immigrant population, the lacking attention paid to residential segregation after 2015, and the understudied connection between integration and segregation are all gaps that my research project intends to fill. Lastly, I outline the methodology I will use in a future comparative study set within Berlin, between the Neukölln and Lichtenberg districts. The demographic realities of Neukölln and the historical context of Lichtenberg come together as a viable comparative analysis. This project requires two measurement techniques: the “index of dissimilarity” for residential segregation (independent variable) and the Refugee Integration Evaluation Tool (IET) for refugee integration (dependent variable).

 

Watch my research presentation below.

Questions or comments? Contact me at: zjilani@oxy.edu

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