3rd Research Conference on Immigration, Incorporation and Democracy 2013

First, it seeks to ana­lyze how Aus­trian and Euro­pean immi­graiton soci­eties and their insti­tu­tions have reponded to the set­tle­ment of immi­grants, and how their incor­po­ra­tion has been facil­i­tated and nego­ti­ated. It wants to ascer­tain which modes of demo­c­ra­tic inno­va­tions have emerged.

Sec­ond, the research con­fer­ence focuses on how immi­grants and immi­grant com­mu­ni­ties in Europe/​Austria have adapted to the insti­tu­tional struc­tures of the receiv­ing soci­eties and polit­i­cal sys­tems. It also wants to deter­mine how entrenched local and national arrange­ments have resisted such adap­ta­tions on one hand and how, as a result, immi­grant groups have sought to develop alter­na­tive forms of involve­ment or engaged in transna­tional activities.

The con­fer­ence is inter­dis­ci­pli­nary in ori­en­ta­tion and wel­comes work from all social sci­ences and the field of legal stud­ies. Whereas the­o­ret­i­cal work is con­sid­ered impor­tant, the Work­ing Group is espe­cially inter­ested in sound ana­lyt­i­cal and empir­i­cal schol­ar­ship and the appli­ca­tion of qual­i­ta­tive or quan­ti­ta­tive method­ol­ogy com­men­su­rate with, and appro­pri­ate for the dis­ci­pline from which the work orig­i­nates. Case study designs are wel­come but it should be under­stood that the goal of the con­fer­ence is to draw com­par­a­tive con­clu­sions and develop a gen­eral under­stand­ing of the mat­ters at hand.

Thus, the abil­ity to gen­er­al­ize from find­ings will be as much a cri­te­ria for invit­ing pre­sen­ta­tions as is the inno­v­a­tive char­ac­ter of the paper or project. Although the work­ing group focuses pri­mar­ily on Aus­trian democ­racy, this research con­fer­ence and its themes are not Austria-​centered and may draw on a wide vari­ety of inter­na­tional expe­ri­ences. How­ever, the inclu­sion of Aus­tria as a ref­er­ence case in the analy­sis is cer­tainly welcome.

• Panel 1: Demo­c­ra­tic Deficits /​Insti­tu­tional Change & Innovation
• Panel 2: Cit­i­zen­ship /​Fun­da­men­tal Rights /​Immi­grants’ Rep­re­sen­ta­tion & Participation

• Panel 3: Demo­c­ra­tic Inno­va­tions /​Immi­grants’ Advocacy
• Panel 4: Per­cep­tion & Cat­e­go­riza­tion /​Mobil­ity & Diversity
• Panel 5: Immi­gra­tion and Resources