The thesis refines the analytical categories of ‘refugee’ and ‘highly skilled migrant’ by exploring the experiences of non-European medical doctors who came to Sweden as refugees. As a narrative research study, the thesis is based on seven in-depth semi-structured interviews with refugee doctors who live in Sweden. By employing Van Hear’s concept of mixed migration and the notions of human, social and cultural capital, the thesis accounts for the interconnectedness of research participants’ migratory and professional trajectories. The analysis of the complex criss-crossing of their doctor and refugee identities makes use of Brubaker and Cooper’s concepts of identification and categorization, and self-understanding and social location which are further developed by Jenkins’ theory on social identity and Anthias’ concept of translocational positionality. The thesis concludes that these individuals’ migratory trajectories cannot be ranked as either forced or voluntary, but have to be conceptualized in terms of mixed migratory movements. In the same vein, the thesis points to the processual nature of identity which is always partly self-constructed and partly determined by the external categorizations, and hence pleads against the essentialization of migrants’ identities, be it that of a ‘refugee’ or ‘highly skilled migrant’.

Flyktingströmmarna över Medelhavet har de senaste åren ökat dramatiskt. Dessa migranter och flyktingar har oftast färdats i undermåliga farkoster, vilket i flera fall lett till att de hamnat i sjönöd. Detta har i sin tur resulterat i att ett stort antal fartyg engagerats i att undsätta dessa människor. Denna studie har genom intervjuer med svenska sjöfarare och genom en litteraturstudie undersökt vilka skillnader och likheter det finns mellan gällande riktlinjer för sjöräddning och räddningsinsatser i Medelhavet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om riktlinjerna identifierar samma problem och risker som personer som deltagit i räddningsinsatser av nödställda migranter i Medelhavet gjort. Av intervjuerna framkom att det inte fanns några större skillnader mellan de internationella riktlinjerna och respondenternas upplevelse. Dock framkom det av intervjuerna att det stora antalet människor ombord utgjorde en säkerhetsrisk. Detta är något som inte togs i beaktande i de riktlinjer som undersökts. Studien poängterar vikten av att undvika panik i alla situationer, ha tydlig ansvarsfördelning samt att vara väl medveten om att omhändertagandet är resurskrävande och innebär en stor arbetsinsats. Den mest centrala rekommendationen för att uppnå ett framgångsrikt resultat ansågs vara att planera väl före en sjöräddningsinsats påbörjades. / The stream of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea has in recent years increased dramatically. This study has through interviews with Swedish seafarers and through a literature study, examined what differences there are between international guidelines and actual efforts made in the Mediterranean Sea. The purpose of the study was to enquire if these guidelines identified the same problems and risks during a SAR-operation as the people involved in the rescue of distressed migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The interviews revealed that there were no major differences between the guidelines and the experience of the people involved. It emerged however from the interviews that the large number of people on board constituted a security risk. This is something that was not taken into account in the guidelines that were examined. The study showed the pressing need to avoid panic in any situation, have clear responsibilities and be aware that the care of the distressed migrants is resource-intensive and involves a lot of work. The most important recommendation to achieve a successful outcome was considered to plan well before a search and rescue effort began.

The aim of this study is to analyse the security implications of refugee flows to South Africa. The country is reputed to host the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the world and is also the foremost refugee destination of choice on the African continent. It therefore becomes pertinent that a consideration of the security implications is necessary in this age of global migration. The dissertation is based on three main assumptions to be investigated and tested, namely: > The main causes of refugee flows to South Africa reside in a number of push-factors in the sending countries, but also in a number of pull-factors in South Africa. > The security implications of refugee flows to South Africa are exacerbated by a number of political, socio-economic and administrative issues in South Africa. > Although concern over some of the security issues relating to refugee flows to South Africa have been officially expressed, policy responses have been ambiguous. The study is undertaken against the background of the concept of national security, specifically in developing countries. It is within these parameters that the security implications of refugees in South Arica are analysed, especially from the perspective of political, economic, social and environmental dimensions. The study mainly focuses on the period 1994 to 2010, as it is within this period that major developments regarding refugee issues in South Africa occurred. / Dissertation (MSecurity Studies)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Political Sciences / Unrestricted