Integration Through Rights: Towards an Associational Paradigm

Integration policies in the EU and the UK have over the past two decades increasingly emphasised duties and constraints for migrants. This article challenges the duty-based model and proposes an alternative legal conception: ‘integration through rights’, with associational rights taking a central role. It argues that migrants participate in diverse associative practices that contribute to the social, civic, and political fabric of their societies, constituting a form of integration that ought to be protected under human rights law. The article criticises the dominant model's imperative of conformity, showing how it undermines human rights and reinforces exclusion. It then develops the legal foundations of an associational paradigm of integration, highlighting the role of associational ties as expressions of belonging in a pluralist democracy. Finally, it explores how this model can be implemented through existing legal frameworks – particularly the European Convention on Human Rights by examining deportation case law through the lens of freedom of association and private life.