Contexts of Diaspora Citizenship: Citizenship and Civic Integration of Somalis in Finland and the United States

The aim of this essay is to build a socio-political and juridical framework for Somali immigrants’ civic integration and citizenship participation. Our preliminary statistical data comes from the international Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) database, and it is supplemented by national statistics specific to Somali immigrants. MIPEX can help to sketch out successful (or failing) national integration policies, but the results are very general because the whole immigrant population is treated as one entity. That is why it is necessary to look at Somali immigrants’ positions more specifically. 
According to the MIPEX results, the policies in Finland and the United States are generally speaking “slightly favorable” for the integration and equality of their immigrant populations. In the ranking of thirtyone countries, Finland had the fourth and the United States had the ninth most favorable conditions for integration. Although these two countries have different approaches to immigrant integration and although the implemented policies are often different, they seem to be producing a very similar outcome. For example, in the categories of Labor Market Mobility, Access to Nationality, Family Reunion, and Education, Finland and the U.S scored very similar results. Finland was especially strong in the category of Political Participation, whereas the United States scored the highest points in Anti-Discrimination. For Finland, the weakest categories were Access to Nationality and Long Term Residence. The United States, in turn, scored its lowest points in Education and Long-Term Residence.
A comparison between the MIPEX results and the national statistics concerning the Somali population can help to address the gaps between theory and practice. For example, according to the MIPEX, both Finland and the U.S. provide “slightly favorable” conditions for labor market mobility. Yet the employment opportunities for Somalis are dramatically weaker in Finland than in the United States. In a similar fashion, although Finland scores high points in the category of Political Participation, the political role of Somalis (and immigrants in general) has remained modest.
At this point, it is important to remember that MIPEX measures only laws and political principles; it does not measure how these laws are implemented or how they intertwine with other aspects of life. Indeed, the success or failure of integration is not determined by immigration and integration laws alone. On the contrary, many different factors, ranging from the state’s economy to biased media coverage, play a significant role in the process. That is why the civic integration of Somalis has to be perceived in a broader political, social, and historical context. This broader social context can also help to illuminate some of the main differences in the civic integration of Somalis in Finland and in the U.S...
In addition to the social and historical contexts, the legal status of Somali arrivals was very different in Finland and in the United States.
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