The expansion of globalization continues to increase the rate at which people move across borders, work and live in countries different from their countries of origin. To ease the migration and integration of immigrants, several countries now offer dual citizenship to their citizens and immigrants willing to naturalize in their country. This has led to a substantial increase in the number of people holding dual citizenship globally. While this has achieved the purpose of immigrant integration, there is a popular concern that it might lead to a case of divided loyalty where individuals with dual citizenship show more loyalty to one of their states than to the other. In light of this, this study explored the loyalty of citizens in Malmo, Sweden to Sweden as their host country and their respective countries of origin.   This study adopted a cross-sectional qualitative survey methodology. Eight inhabitants of Malmo, Sweden were recruited as the study participants using a snowballing sampling technique. A face-to-face interview session guided by a semi-structured interview guide was used as the data collection instrument. The loyalty of study participants was evaluated using four metrics including self-identification, social activity, economic activity and political activity involvement following the communitarianism theory of citizenship.    The socio-demographic profile of the study participants showed that four of them emigrated from Asia, three from Africa and one from Europe. Five of the study participants were male and the other three were female. Seven of them were also employed and only one was unemployed. In addition, all the participants have spent at least six years residing in Sweden.  The results of the study showed that the majority of dual citizens in Sweden prefer to identify with their home country than to identify as a Swede. Also, dual citizens in Malmo, Sweden engage in social, economic and political activities in Sweden more than they do in their home countries. The study concluded that dual citizens in Sweden are more loyal to their host country (Sweden) than they are to their host country. However, this finding mostly applies to immigrants from developing countries as they are the only ones involved in this study as study participants.

This research explores the experiences of second-generation Palestinians in Sweden. It assesses the dynamics of identity negotiation within a multicultural context. While employing a qualitative approach, the study focuses on ten participants' acculturation strategies, linguistic competencies, coping mechanisms, and societal perceptions. The findings show a spectrum of strategies, from integrative approaches that embrace the two cultures to assimilation tendencies aligning with Swedish norms. Language proficiency is crucial to social integration and employment opportunities. It demonstrates the relationship between linguistic skills and socioeconomic advantages. Coping strategies include active engagement in cultural events, language maintenance, and seeking support from the Palestinian community. They demonstrate the resilience and creativity shown by individuals navigating dual identities. The study also exposes the emotional toll of perpetually being perceived as outsiders and emphasizes the urgent need for inclusive societal attitudes. Through thematic analysis, the research contributes a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, coping mechanisms, and societal implications inherent in the identity formation of the second-generation population.

This thesis is a qualitative case study that examines the relationship between sexual citizenship and the formation of belonging for Russian LGBTQ people, which is a relatively understudied group, in Sweden. The thesis employs semi-structured interviews to explore the factors influencing the sense of belonging among Russian LGBTQ migrants, particularly focusing on the potential influence of sexual citizenship rights on their formation of belonging into Swedish society. Theoretical frameworks guide the analysis, bridging the concepts of sexual citizenship and belonging at the interface of migration. The results indicate that sexual citizenship rights positively influence migration to Sweden and the formation of belonging among Russian LGBTQ individuals. Sweden's reputation as a country that upholds human rights, and especially its supportive stance on LGBTQ rights, the freedom to live openly as an LGBTQ person and to express one's values were identified as important factors in forming a sense of belonging in Sweden.

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Through a critical analysis of ten Swedish parliamentary debates, this thesis investigates how Swedish naturalization is conceptualized by the Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, and the Social Democrats, which represent Swedish political elites and the broader category of Swedish political discourse. These conceptualizations are deduced through a systematic analysis which operationalizes concepts of support for multiculturalism, representations of citizenship, functions of naturalization, the lightening vs. strengthening trend in naturalization policy, and otherness. Furthermore, by applying a postructural constructivist perspective and conducting discourse analysis using the text dimension and discourse production dimension of Fairclough’s three dimensional model, this thesis contributes a modern contextualization of Swedish naturalization that future researchers can build upon in the rapidly developing area of Swedish naturalization. The value of this research is tied to the poststructural perspective that the production of discourse by political elites reflects and generates contextual meanings that have influence over naturalization decisions and policy.

This thesis aims to analyse how do students at Nantes University understand the principle of laïcité. Indeed, this principle has been a major subject of debate in France since the 1980s in both political and academic spheres. Following a social constructivist approach to science and Baubérot’s developments on the subject, this thesis focuses on the personal perception of students, their definition of laïcité and how they build this definition. The combination of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis reveals a process through which students reach an understanding. The main sources (educational system, political discourse and mediatic spheres) through which laïcité is first exposed to students are often criticized since they are based on controversial concepts. However, through the mediating role of their identities and personal experiences, students critically examine the different definitions of laïcité and build their own, often based on principles of non-discrimination rather than focusing on religious symbols.

Citizenship laws in Denmark have become more restrictive since the early 2000s. The jus sanguini elements of citizenship hinder descendants of migrants from obtaining citizenship. Despite being born or growing up in the country, they must meet strict requirements to be granted a chance to stay. Additionally, an understanding of a national identity being tied to ethnicity and descent creates barriers for ethnic minorities in Denmark to assert their Danish identity. By conducting in-depth interviews with individuals excluded from citizenship and using the theoretical framework of ethnic identity development, this thesis seeks to explore the connection between citizenship and identity among non-Danish citizens who grew up in the country. The research found that due to the strict requirements and the common understanding of Danish national identity, the research participants were unable to fully explore their national identity, leading to lack of identity achievement.

The subject of this study deals with the work of social workers with unaccompanied children. The problem is presented from a perspective where statistics show that a large proportion of unaccompanied children are compulsorily cared for in youth care for problems such as substance abuse, crime and vagabondage. The study's hypothesis is insofar as there is a problem in the performance of the social services regarding their assignment towards unaccompanied children. Based on the problem, the purpose of the study is to investigate whether social workers experience a problem or obstacle in their work with unaccompanied children in relation to social workers' assignments and professional role, and what factors may have an obstacle. The essay has therefore been carried out according to a qualitative methodology and includes semi-structured interviews with three social workers that describe their experiences of working with unaccompanied children. The conclusions show that the main problems that social workers experience in their work with unaccompanied children are time pressure and a high workload.

In this thesis I consider the interface between copyright law and cultural practice. I argue that the protection of folklore through copyright obfuscates the status of folklore as a generative resource for derivative works in favour of its status as a carrier of national identity, over which states can exercise property rights. Specifically, I analyse the significance of folklore within the playwriting culture of Ghana and discuss how, within this specific context, the introduction of the 2005 Copyright Act (which requires nationals to seek permission and pay a fee to use folklore), rather than incentivising artists to create derivative works from folklore, significantly disrupts the ability of playwrights to continue to create work that reflects the codified theatrical practice established in Ghana post independence. As such, the Ghana Copyright Act, 2005 threatens to jeopardise the fundamental balance in copyright between protection and access, and so the purpose of copyright as a mechanism for incentivising artists. Through exploring the development of the relationship between folklore and copyright and how protection for folklore interacts at the international, continental and sub-regional levels, this thesis examines both the potential impact of the copyright law in Ghana and the efficacy of protecting folklore through a copyright paradigm at all.

Appropriate housing with security of tenure is an important factor in the immigrant settlement and integration process. However, many studies of immigrant settlement and the housing careers of immigrants do so within the borders of a nation-state without reference to transnationalism – immigrants’ ties and cross-border connections with the country of origin. This case study of the transnational ties and housing careers of Ghanaian immigrants in Toronto aims to increase our understanding of one recent immigrant group’s settlement and integration process in Canada. Using a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, this study explores how transnational housing activities influence the housing careers of Ghanaians in Toronto. The findings include insights into the immigration history and the socio-demographic characteristics of Ghanaians in Toronto; the nature and extent of transnational ties between Ghana and Canada; the nature of housing careers among Ghanaians in Toronto; and the influence of transnationalism on housing careers of Ghanaians in Toronto. Although Ghanaians’ immigration to Canada dates from the late 1950s, Ghanaians started coming to Canada in noticeable numbers after the 1960s. Ghanaian immigration to Canada generally and to Toronto particularly surged in the 1980s and beyond. Deteriorating economic and political conditions in Ghana and relatively favourable immigration policies and a good economic climate in Canada were the driving forces behind Ghanaian migration to Canada. However, the Ghanaian settlement process in Toronto does not culminate in a complete break with the homeland. Rather, Ghanaians in Toronto have engaged in a range of transnational activities with the country of origin, including contacts with family and friends, travelling to or visiting Ghana, following Ghanaian politics, investing in housing or property in Ghana, running businesses in Ghana, attending funerals in Ghana, and making regular remittances to Ghana. With respect to Ghanaians’ housing careers, the study reveals that during their initial settlement period, most Ghanaians lived in public subsidized rental housing or poor-quality private rental housing. They considered their housing conditions as inadequate and unsuitable and were not satisfied with their neighbourhood’s safety and security. At the time of the survey, however, respondents were more likely to own homes and were more likely to feel safe and secure in their neighbourhoods. However, housing affordability remains a major problem for Ghanaians in Toronto. With respect to the influence of transnationalism on housing careers of Ghanaians in Toronto, the study finds that transnational housing activities, especially Ghanaians’ attitudes to and preference for investing in housing in Ghana, affect their housing careers in Toronto. Sending regular remittances to Ghana and investing in housing in the homeland involve mobilizing huge financial resources from Toronto to achieving their housing needs in the country of origin, while many Ghanaians struggle to meet their own needs in Toronto. A logistic regression analysis shows that personal income and strong ties with Ghana are statistically significant predictors of investing in housing in Ghana. At the same time, significant predictors of Ghanaians’ propensity to own a house in Canada include loyalty to Canada and household income. The study contributes conceptually and empirically to three areas of research – transnationalism, housing careers, and immigrant settlement and integration – which hitherto have been studied as separate themes. Conceptually, it breaks away from the traditional way of researching immigrant settlement and housing careers by introducing a new conceptual dimension, transnationalism. Further, this research has added new insights about a recently arrived immigrant group in Toronto. Finally, the study contributes to the social work literature by identifying an emerging field of international social work. It has drawn attention to the fact that in the era of transnationalism, the emergence of a population of migrants whose needs and lives transcend national borders will affect the future of social work research and practice.