Many problems in society can only be successfully addressed if its members are willing to cooperate, even if decisions go against their individual or group-specific short-term interests. This cooperation requires a certain level of cohesion among the members of society. Social cohesion can, therefore, be seen as one of the
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Increasing global migration streams challenge social cohesion. The present blog contribution describes several lines of research examining how social norms shape the ways both national majorities in destination countries and immigrants react to increased diversity and its consequences. Overall, this research shows how social norms operating at the national and
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‘Integration’ and ‘social cohesion’ have various meanings in public, academic and political debates. While both terms generally remain ambiguous, ‘integration’ becomes a distinctive reality when used by state officials who grant or deny rights. By reviewing recent developments in Swiss migration law, this blog post discusses critically the underlying ideas
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Scholars in normative political philosophy and citizens of immigrant-receiving countries prominently argue that social cohesion is incompatible with immigration. According to this incompatibility legend, the welfare state can only survive if close-border policies protect the shared national identity. This blog post attempts to demonstrate that the incompatibility between social cohesion
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“Social cohesion is threatened in Western democracies in times of mobility and migration.” Such concerns are raised both privately and publicly and often linked to fears of a crisis of the nation state. Yet, what is meant by social cohesion in the first place? If defined as connectedness between individuals,
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