Reconciling Migrants' Well-Being with the Public Interest: Welfare State, Firms & Citizenship in Transition

This review article considers the issues raised by a collection of papers published by the Council of Europe in a publication that forms part of a series 'Trends in Social Cohesion'. Collectively, the chapters examine a range of issues and challenges for migrants and host communities as part of the wider debate about 'integration' and the tensions between host communities' expectations and those of those of non-nationals. The publication comes particularly at a time when 'security' concerns have been fuelling tensions and insecurities, and residents and newer communities of people of foreign extraction are being portrayed in some sections of the media as a threat to the lifestyle of national populations. As the discussion highlights, other 'threats' focus on perceived cultural differences and mismatches, and have as a back-drop increased competition for scarce resources - jobs, housing, and social benefits.