The organisation of migration - labour immigration reforms in Germany and Norway

Research on immigration reforms has been showing a strong focus on changes of discourse and legislation. However, little has been said in regard to changes of institutions and output. Following the neo-institutionalist approach, the dissertation thus aims at filling a research gap by aiming at a comprehensive understanding of reform processes. Thus, the PhD project's objective is to answer the questions: 1) Do reform processes in Germany and Norway constitute a paradigmatic change of the organisation of l abour immigration? 2) How can the findings of change and inertia as well as similarities and differences between the countries be understood? The analysis of labour immigration reforms in Germany and Norway is of particular relevance because this type of immigration has seen several reforms during the investigation period from 2001 to 2012. However, due to European societies' being organised in sovereign nation states, country-specific characteristics and their historical and cultural background play vit al roles for a comprehensive understanding of reform processes. The qualitative comparative small-n study is twofold. First, the dependent variable, i.e. change in labour immigration reforms is analyzed in depths. Second, independent variables, i.e. count ry characteristics necessary for an understanding of the findings, are subsequently investigated. The analysis follows an inductive process which mainly relies on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with actors of policy formulation and imple mentation. The major challenges of the project are the aim of a contextual understanding as well as, due to a lack in research, the comprehend analysis of institutional changes in labour immigration reforms. The findings of the project can mainly be used to meet general and country-specific challenges during the implementation of reform processes.