Integration at the Neighborhood Level: Cross-National Comparisons of Refugee Segregation, Identity, and Inclusion
Short description
Cities across the world experienced influxes of refugees in recent decades, contributing to a rise in ethnic residential segregation and conflicts over national identity. This project runs simultaneous large-n, face-to-face surveys and experiments with migrant and host populations. Replicating aspects of earlier VR-funded research on refugees living in non-Western settings (Jordan and Turkey), this project will make comparisons with those residing in the West (Sweden and the United States). Focusing the study on a single set of refugees—Syrians who constitute the largest displaced population in the world—allows increased precision for these cross-country comparisons. The study provides voice to marginalized migrant populations often left out of research due to preference for cheaper and easier online surveying.
Project introduction
Cities across the world experienced influxes of refugees in recent decades, contributing to a rise in ethnic residential segregation and conflicts over national identity and belonging. This project innovatively develops a generalizable theory of the causes of segregation and the conceptualization of national identity from simultaneous perspectives of immigrant and host populations.
The study expands our understanding of segregation and national identity through cross-country comparisons. It runs large-n face-to-face surveys and experiments informed by in-depth interviews, providing voice to marginalized immigrant populations often left out of research due to researcher preference for cheaper and easier online surveying. Replicating aspects of earlier VR-funded research on refugees living in cities in the global south (Amman, Jordan and Adana, Turkey) allows for comparisons with cities of the global north (Gothenburg, Sweden and San Diego, United States). Focusing the study on a single set of migrants —Syrians who currently constitute the largest displaced population in the world—allows increased precision for these cross-country comparisons. Like many refugees, Syrians have been displaced for more than a decade now and are unlikely to be able to safely return home.
Project Aims and Purposes:
The project seeks to answer the following broad research questions: Which migrants/host-community citizens prefer to live in migrant/host community enclaves? Can variations in socio-economic characteristics of a neighborhood overcome these prejudices? What factors affect whether host population members or migrants accept or reject interactions with one other? How do migrants and host population members perceive national identity and belonging?
Project Methodology:
The project embeds conjoint experiments within a larger survey mapping socio-economic integration and differentiation of ± 3000 Syrians paired with ± 3000 host population members spread in the secondary cities of Gothenburg, Sweden and San Diego, United States (US).
Each of these cities has received a large influx of Syrian refugees since the start of the crisis in 2011, the great majority of whom remain displaced and are likely to remain so over the long-term. In each country, the sampling design will aim for representative samples of neighborhoods using the most recent census in each city to purposively select neighborhoods of differing ethnic compositions in the sample and random selection of households for inclusion into the study. About even proportions of Syrians and host population participants will be included in each study site.
Project Significance and Novelty:
This project brings methodological innovation to the residential segregation and national identity work. Existing work tends to ask direct questions about inclusion of migrants. Such an approach invites social desirability bias in responses since individuals may be shy to admit attitudes signaling discrimination and prejudice.
Our research also allows us to dig further into earlier findings suggesting that preferences over residential location and conceptualizations of national identity are complex and multidimensional. Application of a conjoint experimental design is ideal for interrogating a complex question like migration where many factors are expected to simultaneously drive preferences. The method not only allows us to weigh the effects of varying factors against one another, but also to examine them in interaction with one another.
This project can help to overcome what is known in the social sciences as the “replicability crisis,” where findings from one context are not generalizable to other contexts, through global north-south comparisons of preferences among both migrants and their host communities. The findings of this project are to be built upon and compared to a large-n survey-based project currently being conducted in the global south. For Further information on this project, please visit the project website.