The current study explores the experiences of mental health care professionals in Sweden who conduct therapy with the assistance of an interpreter. Seven participants took part in semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, 1996). Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the interview transcripts: (1) communication and translation - highlighting the communicative challenges and benefits that arise when using an interpreter, (2) the interpreter as a person and as a professional - describing the variation of interpreters in terms of behavior, personality, roles, and professionalism, and their impact on psychological treatment, and (3) dynamics and relations - featuring the interpreter’s impact on the dynamics and the process of building a patient-therapist alliance. The results show that all participants find it difficult to determine the accuracy of the translation, and several techniques used by the clinician to ensure a correct translation were pointed out. Moreover, findings highlight the essentiality of non-verbal cues and body language in communication and that the role and the behavior, in addition to several personal factors of the interpreter has an impact on the patient-therapist alliance and therapy dynamics. In addition, the study illuminates the patient’s impact on the interpreter as many interpreters themselves have been through traumatic experiences, which in turn may affect the therapeutic process. The findings of the current study show how important it is for clinicians, mental health services, and interpreting services to take the interpreters’ impact on the clinician, the patient, and the therapeutic outcome  into account. The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of clinicians’ experiences of working with interpreters to improve the use of - and collaboration with - interpreters and thereby raise the standard of psychological treatment for refugees and asylum seekers.

We investigate the effect of migration policy reforms on the number of asylum applications into 22 EU countries. This is done by using the Determinants of International Migration Policy, DEMIG policy index as a proxy for policy reforms in EU countries and the number of asylum applications from UNHCR. We perform OLS regressions with destination country fixed effects with HAC clustered standard errors. We contribute to the existing literature by using the DEMIG policy index which, to our knowledge, has not been used in earlier literature. We also thoroughly investigate the effect of migration policy, including both more restrictive and less restrictive policy. Through the investigation of the destination fixed effects, we find robust empirical evidence that migration policy does have an effect on asylum flows, which suggests, in addition to earlier literature, that migration policy is an important factor to have in consideration. Furthermore, we explore whether the push and pull factors examined in previous literature are consistent with our results. We find that the results vary, but are consistently in line with most of the earlier literature. In addition, we find that when other determinants of migration are included, the effect of migration policy diminishes.

The goal of this thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of the controversial issues surrounding the offshore asylum policy by concentrating on the political debates and arguments that are for and against the policies' activation. This will be done by  following the structure of a Political Discourse but applying an Argumentation Analysis to the study. Furthermore, the thesis critically examines the application of liberal norms in the offshore policy of Denmark and the United Kingdom and explores the tensions that occur when liberal principles such as human rights, humanitarianism, and the rule of law overlap with the nation's concerns of immigration and border control. This will be done by analysing the historical changes, legal framework, and the implementation of the policy in Denmark and United Kingdom. Using a comparative case study approach, the thesis analyzes the Rwanda Asylum Plan in relation to similar offshore asylum policies implemented in other countries such as the Australian offshore processing policy.

Yes / Asylum-seeking and refugee (AS&R) women living in the UK often have complex health and social care needs, with poor underlying mental and physical health and an increased risk of negative pregnancy outcomes. Despite this, AS&R women are less likely to attend for timely maternity care and when they do, care may be poor, with staff not understanding their specific needs and displaying poor attitudes. This article discusses the Maternity Stream of the City of Sanctuary and how this charity aims to work with statutory and voluntary sector maternity-related services and groups to develop services that are inclusive for AS&R women and meet their specific needs. Volunteer AS&R women are central to the activities of the Maternity Stream and this article discusses how they engage with midwives and other maternity workers to facilitate the development of services that may ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes for AS&R women.

Bakgrund: Sverige tar emot många asylsökande vilket har medfört att arbetsbelastningen för distriktssköterskor inom primärvården har ökat. Några av de svårigheter som distriktssköterskan ställs inför när det gäller omvårdnaden och omhändertagandet kring asylsökande är bland annat, att bemöta dem med vänlighet och respekt och att försöka lindra deras lidande. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva asylsökandes upplevelser av bemötande från distriktssköterskor och övrig vårdpersonal på en flyktinghälsa och vårdcentral. Metod:Kvalitativ design med en induktiv ansats valdes till denna studie. Semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med hjälp av professionell telefontolk med 12 asylsökande. Materialet analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys med fokus på det latenta innehållet. Resultat: Bemötande har många dimensioner som kan ge upphov till många olika känslor. Asylsökande har i vårdmötet upplevt bemötande som orsakat dem otrygghet och vårdlidande men även bemötande som har gett dem trygghet och känslan av att vara betydelsefulla som människor. Slutsats: Upplevelser kring varje vårdmöte är individuella och unika. Vårdlidande kan uppstå genom att asylsökande upplever otrygghet i det vårdande mötet. Om asylsökande däremot upplever trygghet i vårdmötet kan deras lidande lindras. / Background: Sweden receives many asylum seekers which implies that the workload of district nurses in primary care has increased. Some of the difficulties that the district nurse face when it comes to the nursing care and the specific care of asylum seekers is, among other things, to treat them with kindness and respect and to try to lessen their suffering. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the asylum seekers' experiences of nurse-patient encounters with the district nurses and other health professionals at a refugee health clinic and health center. Method: Qualitative design with an inductive approach was chosen for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the help of professional telephone interpreters’ with 12 asylum seekers. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis focusing the latent content. Results: Treatment (nurse-patient encounters) have many dimensions that can cause many different feelings. Asylum seekers have in the health care encounter experienced treatment that caused them a sence of insecurity and suffering due to care but also the nursing staffs’ attitude has given them increased confidence and a feeling of being an important person. Conclusion: Experiences of each nurse-patient encounter is individual and unique. Care suffering can be caused by that asylum seekers are experiencing a sence of insecurity in the encounter with health care. But if they experience security in the encounter with health care staff, their suffering lessened.

Current literature has indicated a concern about standards of maternity care experienced by pregnant asylum seeking women. As the next generation of midwives, it would appear essential that students are educated in a way that prepares them to effectively care for pregnant asylum seekers. Consequently, this study examined the way in which midwifery students constructed a pregnant asylum seeker's health and social needs, the discourses that influenced their constructions and the implications of these findings for midwifery education. For the duration of year two of a pre-registration midwifery programme, eleven midwifery students participated in the study. Two focus group interviews using a problem based learning (PBL) scenario were conducted. In addition, three students were individually interviewed and two students' written reflections on practice were used to construct data. Following a critical discourse analysis, dominant discourses were identified which appeared to influence the way that pregnant asylum seekers were perceived. The findings suggested an underpinning discourse around the asylum seeker as different and of a criminal persuasion. In addition, managerial and medico-scientific discourses were identified, which appeared to influence how midwifery students approach their care of women in general, at the expense of a woman centred, midwifery perspective. The findings from this study were used to develop 'the pregnant woman within the global context' model for midwifery education and it is recommended that this be used in midwifery education, to facilitate the holistic assessment of pregnant asylum seekers' and other newly arrived migrants' health and social needs.

SAMMANFATTNING: Problem Från 2013 till och med april 2016 har Sverige tagit emot 309.669 asylsökande. De stora vågorna av asylsökande som har kommit understryker behovet av att ge de optimala förutsättningarna för att anpassa sig och integreras i samhället. Hur snabbt och i vilken grad asylsökande lyckas att socialiseras och integreras i samhället är relaterat till de grundläggande villkoren som t.ex. språkträning och samhällsorientering. Denna studie undersöker vilka möjligheter och hinder asylsökande får för att lära sig svenska och höja sina chanser till integration. Metod I studien användes en mixad metod (kvalitativ och kvantitativ). Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med personal och volontär lärare, har sju verksamheter (ABF, NBV, Biblioteket, Vuxenskola, BILDA, Folkuniversitet och Röda Korset) undersökts. Genom en enkät med strukturerade frågeformulär, undersöktes 183 asylsökande vad gäller olika faktorer som påverkar tillgänglighet till språkundervisning och motivation för studier och språklig praxis. Enkäterna delades ut i: Jönköping, Nässjö, Bodafors, Viebäck, Vetlanda, Sävsjö, Värnamo, Vaggeryd, Tokeryd och Skillingaryd. Resultat Kvalitativa delen: De intervjuade säger att det är viktigt att erbjuda svenskundervisning till asylsökande från första dagen de kommer till Sverige. Lärarna lyfter upp frågan om att det finns flera brister som utgör svårigheter för verksamheterna så att de kan erbjuda kvalitativ och tillräcklig undervisning. Kvantitativa delen: Motivationen till språkinlärning påverkas av flera faktorer: tiden sedan ankomst, motivationen till och deltagande i språkundervisning. Trots likheter i utbildning och språkkunskaper mellan könen ändå uppstår könsskillnader i praktisk tillämpning och integration. Slutsats Asylsökande strävar efter att bli en del av det svenska samhället. Det finns könsskillnader i praktisk tillämpning och integration. Förutsättningarna för att lära sig svenska språket är inte tillräckligt bra, p.g.a. informationsbrist eller försening av informationen om erbjuden svenskundervisning, för få erbjudna undervisningstimmar, placering utanför samhället, ekonomiska hinder och bristen på barnomsorg, som även påverkar möjligheten att lära sig svenska och integrera sig i samhället. / ABSTRACT Problem From 2013 to April 2016, Sweden has received 309,669 asylum seekers. The great waves of asylum seekers who have come underscores the need to provide the optimal conditions to adapt and integrate into society. How fast and to what degree they manage to socialize and integrate into society is related to the basic conditions such as language training and civic orientation. This study examines the opportunities and obstacles for asylum seekers to learn Swedish and increase their chances to integrate. Method The study used a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) approach. Through qualitative interviews with staff and volunteer teachers, has seven such activities as (ABF, NBV, Library, Adult education” Vuxenskola”, BILDA, Folkuniversitet and Red Cross) investigated. Through a questionnaire with structured questionnaires, examined 183 asylum seekers in terms of factors that affect the availability to the teaching and motivation for study and linguistic practices. The questionnaires were distributed in Jönköping, Nässjö, Bodafors, Viebäck, Vetlanda, Sävsjö, Värnamo, Vaggeryd, Tokeryd and Skillingaryd. Result Qualitative part: Those interviewed said that it is important to offer Swedish tuition for asylum seekers from the first day they come to Sweden. Teachers raise the issue that there are several shortcomings that make difficulties for businesses so that they can provide quality and adequate education. Quantitative part: The motivation for language learning is influenced by several factors: among them, the time since arrival the motivation for and participation in language teaching. Despite similarities in education and language skills between the sexes, still significant gender differences in the practical application and integration. Conclusion Asylum seekers strive to become a part of Swedish society. There are gender differences in the practical application and integration. The conditions for learning the Swedish language is not good enough, because lack of information or delay of information for offered Swedish teaching, too few offered teaching hours, location outside of society, economic barriers and the lack of childcare, which also affects the ability to learn Swedish and integrate into society.

Since 2001, Australia’s increasingly securitised and exclusionary asylum policy has been legitimated through a damaging discourse surrounding people who seek asylum. This discourse, reinforced by successive Australian Prime Ministers, has been instrumental in shaping policies which have a devastating human impact. While political elites across the West are distancing themselves from a discourse of inclusive multiculturalism, Australia continues to celebrate its multicultural success despite the ongoing tension between a rhetoric of inclusion and one justifying exclusion. Since discourse is both productive and reflective of the social world, shaping discourse can be understood as a means to shape reality. This thesis explores how discourse is constructed and reproduced through framing; a discursive practice that influences how certain issues are understood. The texts analysed are those in which Australian Prime Ministers and senior political figures defend policies of exclusion against people who seek asylum by boat as part of a broader policy vision for a Safe, Secure & Free Australia. In order to contrast the frames, narratives and discourses associated with exclusion, communications promoting the policy vision of an inclusive Multicultural Australia have also been analysed. The frames identified in the material reproduce particular narratives which help to maintain the hegemonic position of discourses which present Australia as a humanitarian, welcoming and inclusive multicultural society and situate people who seek asylum by boat as illegal, seeking an unfair advantage, and as a threat to national security. By identifying frames that consistently appear in the messaging of Australian political elites, we can understand how certain narratives have come to be accepted as truth.

This thesis makes a historically grounded theoretical contribution to an emerging “critical” approach to refugee studies. Utilising the insights of Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt, it seeks to reconceptualise academic and policy understandings of what has come to be known as “the refugee problem" through an examination and critique of its (implicit) conceptual foundations. The thesis proceeds through a series of historically-informed moves oriented by the relationship between power, subjectivity, and agency, and argues that the key to reconceptualising the refugee problem lies in understanding how these three concepts rely upon and reinforce one another in a particular historically contingent configuration. The objectives of this thesis are threefold and connected. First, it unpacks a deceptively unproblematic term, “the refugee problem” to reveal the complicity of understanding the “refugee (as) problem” in perpetuating the plight of increasing numbers of the world's population, despite the alleviation of the difficulties these people face being the professed goal of the refugee regime. Second, in so doing it contributes to a growing body of literature seeking to counter the voicelessness and abjection into which refugees and asylum seekers are cast. And third, on the basis of this, to begin a conversation about rethinking the nature of the “solutions” we seek to a reframed “refugee problem.” Engaging in a (Foucaultian) genealogical analysis of “the refugee problem”, the first half of the thesis charts the historically-contingent development of a distinct “refugee problem discourse”, revealing that the construction of refugees as passive victims of political forces is the effect both of such discourse and of the international refugee regime as a classificatory regime of truth and subjectivity, rather than an expression of any essential nature of “the refugee.” The thesis then turns to Hannah Arendt's work as a theoretical lens through which to reframe our understanding of the “refugee problem” and to investigate how to identify and open up creative forces for re-subjectification processes and “solutions” not tied to the classificatory and subjectivising logic of the refugee regime or sovereign state system.  Practices of rights claiming, and the City of Sanctuary movement in the UK are examined as two such processes, with the potential of posing “counter-narratives” of problems and solutions which challenge the technocratic, or population-management, approach of the refugee regime.

This thesis investigated the power of framing practices in the context of Australian refugee policies between 1999 and 2003. The analysis identified legal rationalism as an ideological projection by which the Howard government justified its refugee policies to the electorate. That is, legal rationalism manifested itself as an overriding concern with the rules and procedures of the law, without necessarily having concern for consistency or continuity. In its first form, legal rationalism emerged as a