Summary and Conclusions

Abstract

This book has explored factors that influence political participation amongst migrant communities. The research has adopted two comparative perspectives and first, examined how institutions provide opportunities and constraints for migrant actors in five Western European countries and, second to what extent three migrant groups on a city level in Malmö, Sweden and Rotterdam, the Netherlands have engaged in political life. Theoretically, the explanatory framework has involved the use of the historical institutionalist approach and applied these ideas to the French, German, Dutch, Swedish and British contexts. Relevant institutions have been introduced and discussed alongside the outcomes in the form of POS which in turn serve as constraints or facilitators for certain types of action.