[The definition of convergence] leaves open scope for a variety of processes across governance levels to drive convergence and for a range of possible convergence outcomes: (i) decreased variation between states as a result of application of the EU’s common legal framework and policy-making process; (ii) ‘an inverse relationship between the initial value of a particular policy indicator and its subsequent growth rate or change’ (Starke, et al, 2008:980) that could arise from a temporal dynamic linked to the application of the EU acquis in newer immigration countries in central, eastern and southern Europe; (iii) change in relation to an exemplary model that could be particularly evident in accession states required to adapt to the EU’s Schengen framework of border control; (iv) convergence as a result of changes in of country rankings that could occur as a result of the application of soft governance frameworks such as EU-wide benchmarking exercises and country rankings (for example, MIPEX)...
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Andrew Geddes: Why European immigration policies are converging
Thomas Huddleston
Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Group
Thomas Huddleston is a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Group, a European think-and-do-tank. He coordinates MPG’s research for European cooperation on national integration policies, including the second and third editions of the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) (published in February 2011) and the third edition of the European Commission’s Handbook on Integration.
