The Culture Gap: The Role of Culture in Successful Refugee
Settlement

ABSTRACT
Globally, the displacement of persons is reaching record numbers, including millions of
refugees seeking safety outside of their native countries. The existing literature on factors
of successful refugee settlement lacks specific quantitative analysis, and most of the
available information on the role of culture is limited to psychological and social
research. I expect that large perceived differences in the culture of the refugee and the
culture of the country in which they settle will cause a combination of xenophobic public
responses and restrictive government policies, and therefore will be negatively related to
successful social integration of those refugees. I assess the role of culture in settlement by
analyzing quantitatively the relationship between cultural distance – the gap between the
culture of the refugee and the culture of the country in which they settle – and successful
settlement in society. I expect that cultural distance will be negatively associated with
achievement of legal status. I also analyze prominent refugee crises between the late
1970s and 2016 to qualitatively assess the role of culture in integration. The case study
section discusses the history, cultural factors, and integration of Syrian refugees in
Germany, Venezuelan refugees in Colombia, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and
refugees from El Salvador to the United States. I find that cultural distance is negatively
associated with education, employment, and sanitation of living conditions, and
positively associated with xenophobia within the country of settlement.