Theorizing National Models of Integration: An Ideational Perspective

In recent years, the use of typologies of national models of integration to analyze and understand immigrant integration politics, policy or processes has become contentious. The approach has received a good share of criticism for offering stereotypical, inaccurate or too simplistic descriptions of how countries approach immigrant integration. According to critics, the approach lacks a clear definition and operationalization of the national model concept, it ignores internal variation, it is unable to account for change and, finally, it lacks a theory of action regarding how ideas affect policies. This paper responds to all these four criticisms but from the perspective of an ideational understanding of the national models approach. However, first, the paper distinguishes different kinds of national model approaches in order to offer a precise definition of the ideational approach it develops.