Introduction

Since at least the summer of 2015, refugee migration to Europe has been a topical issue in academic, political and public debates. While European meta-discourses often link to security issues, border security and problems with “burden sharing”, which are reflected at the state level and expanded by questions of social policies and so forth, the local level is largely neglected. This volume aims to show the development of “the refugee crisis” and reception processes, and the repercussions of this “crisis” for policy development and public discourses at the level of European localities. It brings together a selection of fresh empirical research on reception processes and the development of structures, practices and discourses at the local level throughout Europe.Tthe volume shows the varieties of refugee reception and integration strategies and practices, taking into account the geographical, historical and political contexts of the specific case study regions. By also including perceptions of the local public and how these translate into policy development, it contributes to the nexus between migration/integration of refugees on the one hand and societal development and political culture on the other. Through highlighting examples of experimental governance and multi-sectoral approaches, we point to the role of localities in shaping innovative policies, but we also highlight the effects of tightening national (or supra-national) policies on specific places and localities, and on the inhabitants of those places.