Biographies and the doubleness of inclusion and exclusion

Integration is often considered to be comprised of different dimensions which can influence each other in a linear fashion. For instance, if one becomes more proficient in the host country’s language, one’s labor market participation should also increase. In the Netherlands, this assumption has led to a plethora of policies (like mandatory integration courses) having targeted especially ‘Muslim’ women of Moroccan and Turkish descent, who are perceived as most isolated in society. Obliging them to learn Dutch was believed to increase their economic integration and their sense of home, the latter being considered pivotal for overall successful integration. However, the question is whether dimensions of integration really influence each other in this linear fashion – under all circumstances. With the help of biographical research conducted with first- and second-generation women of Moroccan and Turkish descent in the Netherlands and focusing on both linguistic and economic integration and their effects on sense of belonging, this study shows that mastering the new language and increasing labor market participation can actually have paradoxical non-linear, even curvilinear effects, leading to a decrease in sense of belonging. We try to capture this paradoxical phenomenon with the term doubleness of inclusion and exclusion.