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Selected legislative drafts in the policy fields of migration and integration, before and after 2015
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Contrary to the general trend in European countries since the 2000s, Sweden has neither restricted its migration policy nor limited the rights of migrants. This changed with the ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015 when the government introduced policy changes to curb the number of arrivals and impede the granting of residence permits. Civil society organizati...
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... This kind of data has often been used to analyze the claims made by organizations in the public debate (e.g., Koopmans & Statham, 1999) or the values expressed in policy-making (e.g., Scaramuzzino & Suter, 2020). The analysis in this paper is based on a small group of organizations. ...
The paper aims to understand how established civil society organizations (CSOs) react to populist governance and what factors influence the strategies adopted. Populist governance is often characterized by avoidance of intermediary institutions, such as CSOs, and repression/obstruction of oppositional civil society, which might challenge the position of established CSOs. The paper focuses on how established CSOs in Italy and Sweden have reacted to the 2024 budget legislation by their national governments. The analysis focuses on the content of the advocacy and the level of conflict/opposition implied in the advocacy: from non-structural opposition to major structural opposition. Contextual factors related to state-civil society relations and right-wing populist parties’ access to power are used to understand different levels of conflict among CSOs’ responses as well as the CSO’s characteristics and mission. The analysis shows more frequent system-oriented criticism from Swedish CSOs compared to Italian ones. This pattern can be related to Swedish civil society being more advocacy-oriented as well as the Swedish state having more direct control over public funding to CSOs. Also, the type of CSO and the policy area of activity seem to matter for the response to budget legislation. The article shows the relevance of the societal role of civil society and the power wielded by the populist parties for understanding established CSOs’ interest in and capacity to oppose populist governance. It offers a novel approach to studying CSOs’ responses and understanding contextual factors.
... It has been argued that the transition from the municipalities to the EOs through the reform has meant a redefinition of integration in terms of 'establishment in the labour market' which has reduced the focus on other social, psychological, and cultural aspects of integration. It has also placed a greater emphasis on the individual's responsibility in the integration process instead of seeing integration as a mutual adaptation process between the new members of the polity and the receiving society (Sarstrand Marekovic 2011;Scaramuzzino 2012, Scaramuzzino & Suter 2020. Hence, the reform has implied a change in the integration system both from an organizational and from an ideological point of view. ...
... In analysing the collaborative relationship between organizations belonging to the two sectors (as is the case with NAD) these distinctive characteristics of CSOs can be used to understand possible tensions and conflicts. In particular, the commitment to a distinctive mission, which can be understood as the organization's ideology, becomes relevant when entering a policy field as migration and integration which has been on the top of the political agenda and ridden by conflict in society (Scaramuzzino & Suter 2020). ...
Expectations on collaboration between public authorities and civil society organizations (CSOs) have increased in Sweden the past decades, partly due to changes in the organization of welfare services. This article investigates a collaborative project within the migrant integration policy area. It is a collaboration between the employment offices in a region of Sweden and local CSOs with the common goal of easing the integration of migrants. Theories about civil society as service providers emphasize a possible added value of these non-statutory services related to CSOs distinct character. This link has seldom been empirically investigated. This article explores the distinctive character and added value of CSOs as they unfold in a collaborative project. Two previous studies were conducted by the researchers and this study is an extrapolation of the results. The analysis shows that discrepancies between CSOs and public authorities related to both ideology and organizational logics can be linked to an added value for the participants of the project. Paradoxically, the tensions and discrepancies enabled activities revolving around a more personal and informal understanding of integration that departed from the government agencies’ agenda whilst at the same time being enabled through the collaboration with them.
... 66 However, despite a more inward-looking, nationalist trend in Swedish politics there is still a parallel, cosmopolitan, and welcoming discourse, including secularly as well as religiously motivated individuals and associations in civil society. 67 Among these, the Church of Sweden is a strong counter-securitizing voice advocating a welcoming attitude towards refugees and other immigrants in need, especially children, youth and their families. ...
Taking our point of departure in securitization theory the aim is to analyze how the Lutheran Church of Sweden responded when the Swedish Government in late autumn 2015 made a sudden halt to a previously generous posture towards refugees. Applying the concept of counter-securitization we demonstrate how the Archbishop, and other Church leaders, strongly contested this official policy shift, legitimating their standpoint by referring to a radical, cosmopolitan reading of the gospel. Employees and lay members were mobilized to support immigrants through protest, everyday service, consultation and lobbying. Articulating a view that securitization should not be reserved for cases of a perceived existential military threat is highly relevant for the debate about the role of religion and secularism. Securitization and counter-securitization appear as two complementary approaches, where the Church may stand up as a bulwark defending immigration rights in contradistinction to retrotopian and xenophobic interpretations of the gospel. We contribute to this field by illustrating how research should not be caught in a one-dimensional reading of ‘security’ and ‘securitization’, but has to be interpreted within a non-linear, non-binary framework, with a sensitive ear to different political, cultural, social and religious contexts, not forgetting the time dimension.
... While the organization bases its mission and self-image on impartiality and neutrality, our interlocutor stressed that they aim solely to reduce human suffering and to help the neediest and do not express their own political opinions and religious beliefs. 91 The respective sections of the organization identify areas where support is needed and arrange their activities accordingly. For instance, during summer and fall of 2015, the Malmö Red Cross was involved in many emergency actions and outreach work at the Malmö train station. ...
The inadequate provision of welfare services has long represented a persisting issue in addressing urban poverty, especially in districts where poverty converges. One such district, once a day laborer's quarter, is Kotobuki of Yokohama. However, given that Kotobuki is now recognized as a welfare center, this study analyzes why the abovementioned transformation occurred. Previous research examining this question focused especially on the role of civil society, neglecting that of the city government, despite its crucial role in providing welfare services. Furthermore, few studies have employed robust theories in their analysis. Against this background, this study aims to bridge these gaps, conducting in-depth interviews with city government officials and civil society personnel while using public choice and neo-Hegelian theories. The findings provide useful implications for policymakers in day laborers’ quarters worldwide, as well as insight into future welfare strategies, informing the development of public policies to address urban poverty.
Concentrating on Doris drar (Doris Leaves, 2015), Pudlar och pommes (Poodles and Fries, 2016), and Vitvivan och Gullsippan (Vitvivan and Gullsippan, 2021), this article explores how Pija Lindenbaum utilizes the artistic possibilities of the picturebook medium to communicate with the child reader. Following James Phelan, my investigation goes beyond a static and universal understanding of narratives to seeing them as context-determined and composed in relation to a rhetorical audience. Mike Cadden points out that this rhetorical turn is particularly striking when it comes to children’s literature, as the targeted reader by definition is a child and narratives for children often use specific strategies for more or less well-defined purposes. Taking my cue from rhetorical approaches to literature, I argue that a focus on plots and conflicts enhances our understanding of reading as ethical meaning-making. Conflicts in modern children’s literature are regularly perceived from the child’s point of view in ways that are essential for the transaction of meaning. In my terminology, the conflict constitutes an aesthetic-pedagogical node connecting the reader with the evaluative perspective of the narrative. Addressing the dynamics between text, image, and medium in Lindenbaum’s picturebooks, this article argues that plots and conflicts are pivotal for the reader’s involvement, directing interest and emotional engagement. The plot not only invites the reader to the fictional world, but it also stimulates a context-bound meaning-making involving thoughts, feelings, and values.
The article describes and reflects upon how multi-level governance and planning in Sweden have been affected by and reacted upon three pending major challenges confronting humanity, namely climate change, migration and the Covid-19 pandemic. These ‘crises’ are broadly considered ‘existential threats’ in need of ‘securitisation’. Causes and adequate reactions are contested, and there are no given solutions how to securitise the perceived threats, neither one by one, no less together. Government securitisation strategies are challenged by counter-securitisation demands, and plaguing vulnerable groups in society by in-securitising predicaments. Taking Sweden as an example the article applies an analytical approach drawing upon strands of securitisation, governance and planning theory. Targeting policy responses to the three perceived crises the intricate relations between government levels, responsibilities, capacities, and actions are scrutinized, including a focus upon the role of planning. Overriding research questions are: How has the governance and planning system – central, regional and local governments - in Sweden responded to the challenges of climate change, migration and Covid-19? What threats were identified? What solutions were proposed? What consequences could be traced? What prospects wait around the corner? Comparing crucial aspects of the crises’ anatomies the article adds to the understanding of the way multilevel, cross-sectional, hybrid governance and planning respond to concurrent crises, thereby also offering clues for action in other geopolitical contexts. The article mainly draws upon recent and ongoing research on manifestations of three cases in the Swedish context. Applying a pragmatic, methodological approach combining elements of securitisation, governance and planning theories with Carol Lee Bacchi’s ‘What is the problem represented to be’ and a touch of interpretive/narrative theory, the study reveals distinct differences between the anatomies of the three crises and their handling. Urgency, extension, state of knowledge/epistemology, governance and planning make different imprints on crises management. Sweden’s long-term climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies imply slow, micro-steps forward based on a combination of social-liberal, ‘circular’ and a touch of ‘green growth’ economies. Migration policy displays a Janus face, on the one hand largely respecting the UN refugee quota system on the other hand applying a detailed regulatory framework causing severe insecurity especially for minor refugees wanting to stay and make their living in Sweden. The Covid-19 outbreak revealed a lack of foresight and eroded/fragmented responsibility causing huge stress upon personnel in elderly and health care and appalling death rates among elderly patients, although governance and planning slowly adapted through securitising policies, leading to potential de-securitisation of the issue. The three crises have caused a security wake-up among governments at all levels and the public in general, and the article concludes by discussing whether this ‘perfect storm’ of crises will result in a farewell to neoliberalism – towards a neo-regulatory state facing further challenges and crises for governance, planning and the role of planners. The tentative prospect rather indicates a mixture of context-dependent ‘hybrid governance’, thus also underlining the crucial role of planners’ role as ‘chameleons’ in complicated governance processes of politics, policy and planning.
This briefing paper investigates how the value of gender equality is understood and conveyed in integration work in Europe. In this context, we approach gender equality not as a fixed concept, but through the ideas, practices and actors involved in the value transmission processes related to integration work. Integration work includes a multitude of actions and actors differing across national contexts. These include state organised civic education courses, language courses, facilitating meeting points, NGO and volunteering work, bridge builders and many more. This report explores which role values play in everyday integration work in Germany, Hungary, Poland and Sweden, especially after the increase in state and non‐state initiatives to integrate newcomers.
Fulltext available here: https://novamigra.eu/index.php?c=50_publications
