Bridging the Gaps Linking Research to Public Debates and Policy Making on Migration and Integration

What is the use of research in public debates and policy-making on immigration and integration? Why are there such large gaps between migration debates and migration realities, and how can they be reduced? Bridging the Gaps: Linking Research to Public Debates and Policy Making on Migration and Integration provides a unique set of testimonies and analyses of these questions by researchers and policy experts who have been deeply involved in attempts to link social science research to public policies.

Bridging the Gaps argues that we must go beyond the prevailing focus on the research-policy nexus by considering how the media, public opinion, and other dimensions of public debates can interact with research and policy-processes. The chapters provide theoretical analyses and personal assessments of the successes and failures of past efforts to link research to public debates and policy-making on migration and integration in six different countries - Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States - as well as in European and global governance debates. Contrary to common public perceptions and political demands, Bridging the Gaps argues that all actors contributing to research, public debates, and policy-making should recognize that migration, integration, and related decision-making are highly complex issues, and that there are no quick fixes to what are often enduring policy dilemmas. When the different actors understand and appreciate each other's primary aims and constraints, such common understandings can pave the way for improved policy-making processes and better public policies that deal more effectively with the real challenges of migration and integration

Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies and Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre, Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute, Italy,Kristof Tamas, Director, Migration Studies Delegation, Delmi, Stockholm,Joakim Palme, Chairman of the Migration Studies Delegation, Delmi, and Professor, Department of Government, Uppsala University, Stockholm, Sweden

Professor Martin Ruhs is Chair in Migration Studies and Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. Martin's research focuses on the economics and politics of international migration with a strong international comparative dimension. His books include The Price of Rights. Regulating International Labour Migration (Princeton University Press 2013) and Who Needs Migrant Workers? Labour Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy (Oxford University Press 2010, co-edited with B. Anderson).


Kristof Tamas is Director of Delmi, the Migration Studies Delegation. Mr Tamas was previously senior adviser in the secretariat for the Swedish chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, a Swedish national expert at the EU Commission, an independent research consultant at the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm, and a special adviser and later deputy director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. He has over 25 years of experience in international collaboration in the field of migration. He is the co-editor (with Joakim Palme) of Globalizing Migration Regimes (Routledge 2006).


Joakim Palme is professor of political science at the Department of Government, Uppsala University and Chairman of The Migrations Studies Delegation (Delmi). Throughout the 1980s and 90s, he contributed to the Social Citizenship Indicator Program (SCIP) at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI). In 1999-2001 he chaired the Swedish Welfare Commission. From 2002 to 2011 he was the Director of the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm. He has published extensively on the welfare state as a strategy of equality and the politics of the welfare state. His publications also include studies of social policies in ageing societies, social investment and migration. Currently he is directing a research project on the effects of the Global Financial Crisis. He is working with Martin Ruhs on free movement for workers in the European Union and involved in other project on global migration. He has previously edited anthologies with international publishers.

1. Introduction: Making Linkages Between Research, Public Debates, and Policies on International Migration and Integration, Martin Ruhs, Kristof Tamas and Joakim Palme
Part I: Linking Research, Public Debates, and Policy-Making
2. Research, 'Experts', and the Politics of Migration, Christina Boswell
3. Research-Policy Dialogues on Migrant Integration in Europe: The Impact of Politicization, Han Entzinger and Peter Scholten
4. Informing Realities: Research, Public Opinion, and Media Reports on Migration and Integration, Will Allen, Scott Blinder, and Rob McNeil
Part II: National Experiences
5. Independent Experts and Immigration Policies in the UK: Lessons from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and the Migration Observatory (MigObs), Martin Ruhs
6. The Changing Relationships Between Research, Society and Policy in the Netherlands: Reflections on the WRR 'Maxima Report', Monique Kremer
7. Investigating Immigration and the Sustainability of the Norwegian Welfare State: The Role of Government Commissions, Grete Brochmann
8. Gaps and Challenges of Migration Policy Advice: The German Experience, Klaus Zimmermann
9. The Politicization of Evidence-Based Policies: The Case of Swedish Committees, Kristof Tamas
10. Migration Research and Policy in the United States: Between Admissionists and Restrictionists, Philip Martin
Part III: International Experiences
11. Understanding the Role of Evidence in EU Policy Development: A Case Study of the 'Migration Crisis', Elizabeth Collett
12. A Knowledge-Base for the EU External Migration Policy: The Case of the CARIM Observatories, Agnieszka Weinar
13. Metropolis and Post-Truth Politics: 'Enhancing Policy Through Research', Howard Duncan
14. More Research and Fewer Experts: Global Governance and International Migration, Katy Long
Part IV: Conclusions, Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward
15. Bridging Research, Public Debates, and Policies on Migration and Integration: Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward, Joakim Palme, Martin Ruhs, and Kristof Tamas