Integrators : Contradictions in Practice

What does it mean to integrate someone – and into what, exactly, are they expected to integrate? Drawing on dialogues with ‘integrators’ – professionals tasked with helping migrants, refugees, and other marginalised individuals ‘become part of society’ – reveals that integration is more than a policy; it is a complex, lived, and often contradictory practice. Here, the work of integrators in Sweden and Hungary is examined. Framed through Chantal Mouffe’s account of the democratic paradox, and drawing on Gadamer, Arendt, Schütz, and Ahmed, this work shows how integrators operate at the intersection of politics and social life. They are both enforcers and negotiators of societal boundaries, maintaining a double perspective: critically distanced from society yet deeply embedded within it. By tracing how integrators reconcile political claims about the nature of society with the demands society places on those perceived as needing integration, this study challenges conventional integration discourse. It ofers a rich and nuanced analysis for scholars and practitioners in migration studies, political theory, social work, and beyond. Ellen Jacobsson carries out research in the theory of practical knowledge at Södertörn University. She holds an M.A. in philosophy from Makerere University in Uganda, and this is her PhD thesis.