As environmental changes, including climate change, become more and more severe and affect every corner of the world, many people are forced to move from their homestead as the nearby environment that once was a safe place slowly becomes inhabitable. The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is one of the places in the world where environmental changes jeopardize rural livelihoods creating a trend of out-migration and urbanization. Through a Minor Field Study facilitated by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, this research was conducted in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, specifically the An Biên District in Kiên Giang province. The empirical base did, from an ethnographically inspired qualitative method, collect primary data by using observation, semi-structured interviews, a group discussion, as well as expert interviews with key informants. The research aimed at generating insights and knowledge about local perceptions by investigating environmental changes’ connection to migration and integrating the frameworks Drivers of Migration and the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods approach. It found both that the perceptions of environmental changes impact on livelihoods and its relation to migration as adaptation was different depending on the type of agricultural activities. It also found that environmental changes partly had or did not at all have a relationship with migration as adaptation, but rather the financial and social conditions together with natural capital as the size of land.

This thesis considers the individual drivers of migration in modern Swedish emigration and the subsequent decision to remain in the host country. The study draws on primary data from 14 semi-structured digital interviews with Swedes who have emigrated and permanently settled down in different locations in the United States. Through the push- and pull framework, individual cases have been considered whilst also comparing the findings with previously identified drivers in migration research. The sociological findings of this study present the collectivist Swedish norm Jantelagen (‘The Law of Jante’) as a prospective push-factor in both the decision to emigrate and to permanently settle down in the U.S. Subsequently, certain discrepancy exists on the macro level of Swedish society as both radically individualistic with collectivistic norms expecting individual conformity. The result implies that emigration is an option to break free from normative restrictions for certain individuals. Relatedly, the perception of a negative political development, restricted freedom of opinion, and self-censoring political correctness are explicit push-factors for some Swedes to emigrate and/or reside permanently. Furthermore, higher levels of stimulation in education and work, easy access to the job and housing market in the U.S. could be linked to the migration driver subjective well-being/happiness. Network often influenced the emigration and led to perceived lifestyle improvement. Moreover, the initial push and pull factors proved to be inconstant as motives and circumstances in the migration process changed e.g. in case of separation from a partner.