Introduction : the use and misuse of policy indices in the domain of citizenship and integration

Abstract

This special issue aims at discussing recent developments in the citizenship and integration literature especially regarding policy indices and the way policies are conceptualized and measured: How do we operationalize citizenship regimes? How do we measure and compare integration policies? Does it matter which and how many aspects are included in an index? How effective are policy outputs and do they lead to the intended outcomes? Once we know how to measure citizenship and integration policies we are also in a position to establish typologies and configurations of citizenship regimes. However, what are the assumptions underlying such typologies? Can we actually compare citizenship and integration policies across countries and across time?