Anita Manatschal

The Regional Dynamics of Integration and Citizenship Regulation: An International Comparative Perspective

In June 2016, Anita Manatschal took up her function as Assistant Professor in Migration Policy Analysis, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the University of Neuchâtel. Since her arrival, Anita Manatschal has taken over an important role in shaping the nccr – on the move’s future research agenda. In addition, she is Project Leader of a subproject to the project  “Unity and Diversity in Cohesion: Immigration, Citizenship and Federalism” researching the regional dynamics of integration and citizenship regulation.

Regional governments compete with national and supranational actors for ownership of the regulation of immigration, asylum, and integration. Regions, Bundesländer, cantons and provinces as well as US States increasingly set their own, distinctive, policy priorities. This might lead to conflicts between governmental levels, and ultimately affects migrants’ lives. This project provides the first systematic, internationally comparative analysis of the drivers and effects of regional immigrant integration policies in multi-level systems across the world.

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)
Main Results (PDF)

Messages for Decision-Makers

Regions all over Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada increasingly engage in immigrant integration policy making, challenging or complementing central and federal governments’ policies.
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Emerging regional policy differences affect immigrants’ daily life, their political participation and their willingness to become citizens of the country where they live. They also impact on the cohesion of the overall regional population.

Project-related scientific publications Select publication   Engl, Alice and Verena Wisthaler Stress Test for the Policy-making Capability of Cross-border Spaces? Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino 2020   Caponio, Tiziana, Gaia Testore and Verena Wisthaler Intergovernmental relations on immigrant integration in Italy. Insights from Piedmont and South Tyrol 2019   Piccoli, Lorenzo The Regional Battleground: Partisanship as a Key Driver of the Subnational Contestation of Citizenship 2019   Gundelach, Birte and Anita Manatschal Ethnic Diversity, Social Trust and the Moderating Role of Subnational Integration Policy 2017   Freitag, Markus, Anita Manatschal, Kathrin Ackermann and Maya Ackermann Freiwilligen-Monitor Schweiz 2016 2016   Manatschal, Anita and Julian Bernauer Consenting to Exclude? Empirical Patterns of Democracy and Immigrant Integration Policy 2016   Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle and Anita Manatschal Freiwilligentätigkeit in der Schweiz-empirische Evidenz aus dem Schweizer Freiwilligen-Monitor 2016