Are small towns a battleground for migration governance? Negotiating refugee integration in small towns in the Netherlands.

A surge in refugee arrivals post-2015 challenged small localities across Europe to respond to 'refugee integration' locally. Existing literature focuses little on governance dynamics in small localities, particularly regarding actors' roles and relations. Based on fieldwork in four Dutch localities,...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Local Government Studies Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 513 - 536
Autores principales: Jonitz, Elina, Schiller, Maria, Scholten, Peter
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=194058925&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 194058925
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        03003930
        LBQ
      jtl: Local Government Studies
      issn: 03003930
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jun2026
      vid: 52
      iid: 3
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
    artinfo:
      ui:
        194058925
        10.1080/03003930.2024.2357306
      ppf: 513
      ppct: 23
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 586KB
      tig:
        atl: Are small towns a battleground for migration governance? Negotiating refugee integration in small towns in the Netherlands.
      aug:
        au:
          Jonitz, Elina
          Schiller, Maria
          Scholten, Peter
        affil: Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
      su:
        Small cities
        Local government
        Intervention (Federal government)
        Network governance
        Power (Social sciences)
        Civil society
        Refugee resettlement
        Mass migrations
        Netherlands
      sug:
        subj:
          Netherlands
          Small cities
          Local government
          Intervention (Federal government)
          Network governance
          Power (Social sciences)
          Civil society
          Refugee resettlement
          Mass migrations
      keyword:
        battleground
        collaborative governance
        Local governance
        migration
        refugee integration
        small towns
      ab: A surge in refugee arrivals post-2015 challenged small localities across Europe to respond to 'refugee integration' locally. Existing literature focuses little on governance dynamics in small localities, particularly regarding actors' roles and relations. Based on fieldwork in four Dutch localities, we analyse the involvement of different actor types and explore if/how they develop collaborative relations. We show that small town governments engage in different forms of collaborative governance, from consolidated actor networks and intensive collaboration between local governments and CSOs to fragmented networks with more passive governments. However, we also find conflicts among actors due to power asymmetries and diverging interests and values. We identify several factors shaping interaction patterns, including localities' size, political orientation, political leadership, residents' attitudes and municipal decision-making. Despite outsourcing tasks, local governments remain pivotal in integration governance, giving them a crucial role in creating inclusive, participatory spaces, preventing actors' alienation and designing efficient policy responses.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      custom: Copyright of Local Government Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
      item: Local Government Studies
      holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2026
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N