Immigration and Integration Policy: Between Incrementalism and Non-Decisions.

The paper asks whether Peter Katzenstein’s model of ‘semisovereign’ governance, first published in 1987, can still adequately account for policy developments in immigration and integration policy in Germany. It finds that although the policy field has evolved considerably, and that the institutional configuration has changed dramatically, policy outcomes remain incremental, in that policy change is rare and gradual. The paper also asks whether semisovereign governance is an asset in this field, as originally postulated by Katzenstein, or whether it has become a liability, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]