The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents

Dr. Karen Nielsen Breidahl (Aalborg University, Danmark)

Migrants’ experiences with welfare programs: Why and how it matte

When migrants begin a life in a new country (other than their country of origin) they are confronted with a new way of organising society and a considerable number of requirements and cues on how to behave as ‘good citizens’. Moreover – most notable for refugees and asylum seekers – they are also confronted with and enrolled into various government and welfare programs. These programs are not only crucial for delivering social welfare – they are the central arena through which newcomers experience the state, politics and democracy in action.

It is a well-established finding that citizens’ experiences with welfare programs can have important implications for political engagement, institutional trust, and citizenship more broadly. From previous research we know much less about how different categories of migrants encounters these various programs and the broader implications hereof. This presentation offers new theoretical and empirical insights on this important topic.