Integration Practices in Migration Management: Experience of Some European Union Countries

The paper considers institutional mechanisms and substantive approaches to managing the processes of migrant integration into the host community. The analysis is carried out in the framework of studying practical models for regulating the transformation of polyethnic communities and uses data from several countries in the European Union. It is shown that the models of practical regulation of integration processes are based on the understanding of integration as a two-way process and are primarily expressed in changes in social institutions and relations between them. Thus, at the supranational level a combination of directive and recommendatory forms of influence on integration policies is significant, at the national level – the principles of individual and inclusive approaches within the framework of the introduction of a set of regulatory policies of the “mainstream”, at the local level – integration initiatives of the municipal level and interaction with the non-governmental sector. Of special note is the significant role of monitoring integration processes and integration policies. It has been noted that integration practices in Russia are based on understanding integration as a one-sided process and contribute to the realization of its cultural function, while in the EU countries – to its structural and social functions. The paper offers the conclusion about the possibility of applying some of the considered mechanisms and approaches in strategies for managing and regulating migration processes in the Russian Federation.