Social cohesion: a policy and indicator framework for assessing immigrant and host outcomes.

• Author: Spoonley, Paul

Abstract

Social cohesion as a social policy goal has recently appeared in policy statements in relation to outcomes associated with immigrant settlement. This paper explores some of the literature on social cohesion, and how the concept might operate in a New Zealand policy context. The latter part of the paper focuses on a proposed indicator framework as a way of measuring settlement outcomes for both immigrant and host, and providing an indication of whether social cohesion is being achieved.

INTRODUCTION

As immigrant-related diversity has grown in New Zealand since the change to immigration policy in the late 1980s, the question of ensuring positive outcomes for immigrants has become increasingly important. However, this is not simply an issue of outcomes for immigrants; there are important issues for the host society and for the relationships between host and immigrant. "Settlement Strategies" have been developed in New Zealand, at both the regional and national levels, (2) that emphasise the need for evidence that settlement policies are effective in ensuring that both migrant and host communities are experiencing positive outcomes. The New Zealand Government needs better information to monitor the impact of settlement policy on outcomes for migrants, refugees, their families, and the wider community.

Settlement policies that contribute to a cohesive society require a focus on both the immigrants and the hosts. Although there are significant and ongoing debates about social cohesion and inclusion and the relationships between immigrant and host communities, the focus here is on identifying an initial framework as a contribution to these debates. On the one hand, government has an interest in policies that enable new settlers to develop a sense of belonging to the wider community, participate in all aspects of social, cultural and economic life, and be confident that they are coming into a country that is able to accept their difference and value their contribution. On the other hand, there is a policy interest in the responsiveness of immigrant groups to the institutions, organisations and people who have already made their lives in New Zealand, and who need to have confidence that their ways of life will not be compromised or jeopardised by the arrival of new settlers.

The national Immigration Settlement Strategy (New Zealand Immigration Service 2004) identifies six goals for migrants and refugees, including that they are able to:

* obtain employment appropriate to their qualifications and skills

* be confident using English in a New Zealand setting or can access appropriate language support to bridge the gap

* access appropriate information and responsive services that are available to the wider community (for example, housing, education and services for children)

* form supportive social networks and establish a sustainable community identity

* feel safe expressing their ethnic identity and are accepted by, and are part of, the wider host community

* participate in civic, community and social activities.

The New Zealand National Immigration Settlement Strategy, because it is focused on migrants, refugees and their families, implicitly identifies an inclusive and cohesive society as one which accommodates new migrants and recognises the contributions that migrants make. Other high-level government goals also seek to reinforce public confidence amongst migrants and host communities alike that New Zealand is a diverse, tolerant, creative and supportive place to live. Regardless of the conceptual debates, measuring either or both of these facets of cohesion and inclusion from a government perspective is complex. This paper summarises the key conceptual debates as they relate to New Zealand, and also (briefly) proposes a framework that identifies the factors and issues that need to be addressed by indicators and measures.

SOCIAL COHESION: A NEW AGENDA

The challenges associated with incorporating immigrants from other cultures have been recognised by the classic immigration-receiving societies of Canada, Australia and the United States, and by more recent immigrant-receiving societies, in the European Union. The challenges have been summarised as:

* How to reconcile the recognition of diversity with building common feelings of membership and solidarity?

* How to understand the links between economic disadvantage and cultural exclusion, since many minority groups suffer from both?

* How to promote genuine mutual understanding rather than simply a tokenistic appreciation of diversity?

* How to enable greater public participation, yet also ensure that participation is conducted responsibly, with a spirit of openness and fairness, and is not simply a way of asserting dogmatic claims or scapegoating unpopular groups? (Kymlicka 2003:3)

There has been growing interest in how best to articulate and achieve social policy goals that address the multiple issues that accompany immigration, the settlement process and immigrant-host relations. Concepts such as social cohesion, social inclusion/exclusion, and social capital have become prominent in immigration-related work carried out in Canada (Jeanotte 2002, 2003) and the European Union (European Commission 2003, Parekh 2000). The changing demographic structure and economic needs of many of these societies have underlined the importance of immigrant selection and settlement. Immigrants face challenges as they seek to obtain housing, education, employment and health care at the very moment they have left many of their existing networks behind, while the host community often struggles to understand and accept immigrants (Policy Research Initiative 2003).

These issues have been recognised in New Zealand (New Zealand Immigration Service 2004) and the question of positive settlement outcomes for migrants, refugees and their families, as well as enhancing host society institutions and outcomes, has emerged as an important policy objective. Social cohesion is implicit in government's key goals including:

* strengthening national identity and upholding the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

* growing an inclusive innovative economy for the benefit of all

* maintaining trust in government and providing strong social services

* improving New Zealanders' skills

* reducing inequalities in health, education, employment and housing.

Government can, and does, influence social cohesion in a number of ways, including human rights legislation, investment in social development and shaping immigration policy. From a New Zealand government perspective, there is a need for greater understanding and monitoring of the impact of settlement policy on outcomes for migrants and their families, and the wider community. At present, there are significant gaps in available outcome indicators of social cohesion, and there are few "impact" indicators to measure the effects of settlement policies on social cohesion or other high-level social outcomes. The Ministry of Social Development's Social Report, and other sources, provides high-level indicators of social wellbeing across a range of domains, and information on various social outcomes and changes in those outcomes over time. However, they do not identify the causes of those outcomes or changes. There is also a lack of quality and detail in administrative information about the situation of various immigrant groups. For example, migrants and refugees are often recorded as "other" instead of being recorded by their respective ethnic group, country of origin and residence status.

Two tasks emerge from this situation. The first is to develop a robust and pragmatic rendering of social cohesion as a social policy goal, and the second is to develop an appropriate indicator framework that would provide the evidence base for understanding the post-arrival pathways and outcomes for both immigrant and host.

DEFINING SOCIAL COHESION

There is no commonly accepted definition of social cohesion in the international literature but Canadian social theorist, Jane Jenson, has usefully described a "socially cohesive society" as one where all groups have a sense of "belonging, participation, inclusion, recognition and legitimacy" (Jenson 1998). Jenson also suggests that these positive attributes of cohesion are often complemented by reference to negative variables such as isolation, exclusion, non-involvement, rejection and illegitimacy as examples and perceptions of the absence of cohesion (Jenson 1998). Beauvais and Jenson (2002) combine an interest in social cohesion with social capital and underline the interactive elements of:

* common values and a civic culture

* social order and social control

* social solidarity and reductions in wealth disparities

* social networks and social capital

* territorial belonging and identity.

Social cohesion is not unidirectional but interactive. Policy implications and the measurement of cohesion depend on how the concept is defined. As Beauvais and Jenson (2002) point out, each of these elements could be linked or they could be freestanding, with each having different implications. If common values and civic culture are the lens through which cohesion is understood, then attempts will be made to measure the fragmentation and weakening of values and a policy intervention may entail a strategy that promotes common values. If social order and social control is the focus, then the concern may be with the consequences of exclusion and the perceived legitimacy of the system. Economic concerns and issues of redistribution would dominate the policy and measurement focus of the third element, whereas networks and embeddedness would dominate the fourth. The fifth element is concerned with the connections to a place and its institutions in a broad sense. Throughout, there are "definitional choices [which] have significant consequences for what is analysed, what is measured, and what policy action is recommended" (Beauvais...