Influential and representative? The role of migrant umbrella organisations in integration policy (February 2022 – December 2024)

Today, many migrant umbrella organisations lobby policy-makers and the administration both at regional and at national level, representing, for instance, political, social or cultural and religious interests of people with a migration background. Since the 2000s, the federal government has also increasingly acknowledged these organisations’ inputs  to integration policy. The fact that, for instance, migrant umbrella organisations are being increasingly incorporated into political dialogue forums at federal level (e.g. the Integration Summit), give concrete expression to this development. At the same time, knowledge about the landscape of migrant umbrella organisations in Germany is still very limited. The same goes for how their role and function in integration policy has evolved.

The research project follows from a previous study entitled “Migrant Organisations as Partners of Politics and Civil Society”, conducted between 2018 and 2020 by the then Expert Council’s Research Unit. Building on this previous overview of the size, diversity and structure of migrant organisations across the whole of Germany, the new research project aims at systematically addressing current research gaps on migrant umbrella organisations active at the national level. One focus will lay on their potentials for political representation and their chances of bringing their influence to bear in political processes.

A policy brief was published in November 2022. It will be followed by a broader-based research project in 2024.

Publication

Policy Brief (Summary)

Seeking a partner? The state and migrant umbrella organisations in integration policy

Contact
Dr Marie Mualem-Schröder
Researcher
Tel +49 30. 288 86 59 – 19
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