REFUGEES INTEGRATION & MIGRATION

More people are currently displaced from their homes by war and conflict than ever previously recorded, and many are displaced for decades. As a result, there is increasing interest in promoting stable, if not permanent, solutions. The success of these solutions is in part evaluated by how well refugees are integrating into their new communities. Integration, in its broadest sense, refers to inclusion and participation, both economically and socially. Although the focus is often on how refugees change to integrate, successful integration requires a social context that supports inclusion and participation. The focus of this special issue is on the ways in which policies of settlement at the international, national, regional, and local level support or hinder integration by affecting the social context. These policies can affect the social context by directly limiting economic and social participation, but also by intentionally or unintentionally shaping community attitudes.