Relational equality and integration

This paper proposes a conceptual revision of the integration concept as a subset of relational (in)equality. In doing so, it aims to make theories of relational (in)equality applicable to migration studies, as well as contributing to our understanding of relational equality through its application in contexts of immigration. First, it theorizes a normative conception of integration as an issue of egalitarianism. I argue that we need a conception of equality here that does not portray the integration as a problem of immigrants who need to become ‘equal to non-immigrants’ because they are currently ‘lagging behind’ and need to be ‘elevated’, such that non-immigrants become the benchmark for the integration of immigrants. Building on theories of relational (in)equality, I argue that integration is to be situated in configurations of hierarchical membership relations. I thereby explicitly reject the conventional approach in migration studies that situates integration in certain people, immigrants, who would be ‘more’ or ‘less’ integrated in a social entity. Instead, relational integration asks whether membership relations, and the social phenomena in which they are expressed, are integrated. The second aim is to add to theory on relational equality by providing a more concrete application of the concept, in this case, to immigration and integration. Thus, it uses the investigation of integration as a case study to sharpen our understanding of the social processes that matter if we want to investigate relational equality, making the concept more tangible for empirical scholars. Linking it to insights from relational sociology, I discuss social legitimation processes, as mechanisms through which people are evaluated as members of societies, and link these to insights of social boundary theory and the concurrent dynamics of social closure or openness through which people are granted more or less access to resources within society (Tilly 2005).