'Íntegration' and the social becoming of newcomers in Amsterdam: Locating Dutch integration policy in the everday

Abstract

This thesis aims to dismantle the homogenisation of integration processes by Dutch integration policy. The data that is used has been collated through three months in the field at different social centres in Amsterdam: Boost, Het Wereldhuis and Casa Migrante. These social centres aim to facilitate the integration of newcomers into Dutch society. I draw on key concepts involved in these processes such as cultural assimilation, social cohesion, language and friendship. As a result, this thesis navigates friction moments between the personal experiences of newcomers compared with the expectations of Dutch integration policy. I also reflect on my own positionality as a white European researcher and how this shapes my own integration into Dutch society. This research is contextually situated in light of current events such as the refugee crisis and the contemporary rise in migration across Europe. Societies are becoming more diverse and Amsterdam is a prime example of this, resulting in avid debate on the topic of integration . Through the application of Ingold s (2011) anthropological theory that defines being alive as a state of continuous becoming, I deconstruct notions of integration as they currently stand. Alternatively, integration is revealed as a state of continuous integrating, as part of the ongoing process of social becoming. This theory is employed as an act of protest against the standardised and static procedure of integration by Dutch policy.