Filling the Gaps: Theorizing the Effects of Sociopolitical Conditions on Integration Outcomes

As the previous chapter has illustrated, sociopolitical conditions in host countries have not been given sufficient consideration in previous studies on migrant integration. In addition, there is room for additional research on the psychological mechanisms that connect integration drivers and outcomes as well as potential feedback effects. To address these gaps in the literature, this chapter develops a conceptual framework that places structural determinants of integration, particularly sociopolitical conditions, front and center. This framework provides a comprehensive account of the effects of sociopolitical conditions by explicating the psychological mechanisms through which they impact integration outcomes and theorizing feedback effects in integration processes, that is, integration outcomes themselves influencing certain psychological mechanisms and determinants. In order to do so, this chapter proceeds in two steps. First, I lay out the general framework from which hypotheses about the integration of migrants into Western European societies can be derived. Second, I formulate six such hypotheses that specify the effects of two sociopolitical conditions, political polarization and discriminatory climates, on migrant integration outcomes, including their psychological mechanisms and feedback effects.