The potential of neighbourhood-based social integration of young refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia and the implications for multilayer governance of social

Abstract

The concept of the "social investment state" is currently the key concept in the context of the transformation of welfare states in Europe. This research project focuses on three perspectives to the current situation in which for long periods of their youth, young adult refugees continue to rely on social assistance: (1) knowledge regarding the importance of local structures and the neighbourhood for integration processes, (2) findings regarding the relevance of the capability approach to social assistance for meeting the ambivalent requirements of the social investment state , and (3) the implications for multi-layer governance of the social investment approach. The research follows a mixed method approach and the focus is a) on the young adult refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia living in the Solothurn canton.