This thesis explores the normative propriety of immigration detention in liberal states. In the first part of the thesis, I explore the development, current practice, and popular justifications for immigration detention in the United Kingdom. I argue that a crucial but unacknowledged role for immigration detention is to function as a political spectacle of the centralisation of power in liberal states. I find that the key motivation for detaining non-citizens is that they could abscond before their removals. I conclude that this basis for detention is normatively acceptable in only very limited cases and, even then, alternatives are often available and ethically preferable. Based on the fact that there is a normatively acceptable rationale, albeit circumscribed, for detention practices, I then propose a framework of minimum standards of treatment in detention that I advise all liberal states to follow. After outlining my proposal, I turn in the second part of the thesis to an examination of the normative theories of immigration control and how they take account of detention. Normative theorists differ in how they balance their commitments to individual and state rights, yet I find the majority concedes the need for some degree of immigration admissions control. Such theories face a moral dilemma: there can be no immigration control without detention, and so detention becomes an implicit assumption for these normative theories to be coherent. A potential solution for combating the practical problems associated with the growing, worsening detention estates as well as the moral dilemma of incarcerating a non-citizen based on fear of absconding would be to open borders and eliminate immigration control. Given the reality of the sovereign right to control immigration, however, I argue that the more feasible normative answer is lobby liberal states to adopt my framework of minimum standards of treatment while simultaneously pressing for open borders as the long-term ethical goal.

This thesis concerns persons recognised as refugees based on the criteria set by Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (CSR1951) and residing in a Contracting State. It appraises the exclusion of CSR1951 refugees from participation in elections of their countries of asylum pursuant to a citizenship voting qualification, which most countries set. It is emphasised that, since neither the CSR1951 refugees nor their country of asylum know when or indeed whether cessation of CSR1951 refugee status may occur, their exclusion may last for an indeterminate period of time. CSR1951 confers on recognised refugees a host of civil, social and economic rights in their country of asylum; voting rights are absent. Concomitantly, while the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (and regional human rights treaties) pronounce that all persons are entitled to have their rights respected, protected and promoted, Contracting States are permitted to reserve two rights for their (full) members: the right to enter and remain in their country, and the right to vote in its elections. The central claim of this thesis is that recognised CSR1951 refugees are a special category of non-citizen residents, due to their unique political predicament. They are unable to participate in elections of their country of origin, do not enjoy its diplomatic protection and consular assistance abroad, and – most fundamentally – are unable or unwilling, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, to return to it for an indeterminate (and potentially protracted) period. It is submitted that recognised CSR1951 refugees should be entitled to vote in elections of their countries of asylum, notwithstanding general citizenship qualifications imposed by these countries. At present, treaty law does not require countries of asylum to enfranchise their recognised CSR1951 refugees. Hence, this thesis explores a gap in international refugee law and international human rights law between de lege lata and de lege ferenda; it is an exercise in ‘progressive development of the law’. Its inquiry is located in the international domain, and concerns, in principle, any Contracting State which admits and recognises CSR1951 refugees. References to national or regional practices serve solely an illustrative purpose.

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.

Due to on going wars and conflicts in the world, the number of people seeking asylum in other countries has increased. Including a large group of unaccompanied minors which is described as ”children who left their country without their parents or a significant other”. In 2015, nearly 35,000 unaccompanied children arrived in Sweden seeking asylum, whereupon the majority arrived in the last months of the year. The large number resulted in an extreme pressure upon the Swedish municipalities, to successfully receive all unaccompanied children. And fulfill their organizational mission according to the Swedish legislation. Therefore the purpose of the study is to establish a deeper understanding of how a social service, organizationally handled an increase in the number of unaccompanied children. A qualitative method was used, consisting semi-structured interviews with nine respondents from or related to the social services. The data of the study were analyzed using a thematic analysis, meaning a search for patterns to create themes and subthemes. The results of the study show that the increase number of unaccompanied minors were experienced and had to be handled as a crisis. The bureaucratic structure of the social service became problematic and constituted an obstacle in the efforts to receive the unaccompanied children. Including a difficulty to follow existing laws and regulations. To resolve the situation the social service had to be flexible and creative in their approach to receive the children. One conclusion is that a bureaucratic structure is not suitable in a dynamic environment that demands quick decisions and flexibility. Another conclusion is that the effort of the staff has been crucial, resolving the crisis. / Antalet människor som flyr undan krig och konflikter i världen har under den senaste tiden ökat. Av dessa människor är en stor grupp ensamkommande barn, det vill säga barn som lämnat sitt hemland utan sina föräldrar eller signifikant annan. Under 2015 anlände ca 35 000 ensamkommande barn till Sverige för att söka asyl. Majoriteten av dessa anlände under de sista månaderna på året. Det medförde ett extremt högt tryck på landets kommuner för att lyckas motta samtliga ensamkommande barn och fullfölja sitt organisatoriska uppdrag enligt den svenska lagstiftningen. Förevarande studies syfte är därmed att få en fördjupad kunskap kring hur en socialförvaltning organisatoriskt har hanterat en ökning av antalet ensamkommande barn. En kvalitativ metod har använts, bestående av semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio respondenter från eller med anknytning till socialförvaltningen. Studiens data analyserades med hjälp av en tematisk analys, där mönster eftersöktes och teman och subteman skapades. Resultatet av studien visar att den stora ökningen av ensamkommande barn upplevdes och fick hanteras som en krissituation. Förvaltningens byråkratiska struktur blev problematisk och utgjorde ett hinder i arbetet med att motta de ensamkommande barnen. Bland annat kunde inte befintliga lagar och regler följas. För att lösa situationen fick förvaltningen vara flexibel och kreativ i sitt arbetssätt. En slutsats är att en byråkratisk organisation inte lämpar sig för en dynamisk omvärld, som ställer krav på snabba beslut och flexibilitet. Därtill framgår att personalens insats inom socialförvaltningen var avgörande för att lösa krissituationen.

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.

Cette recherche s’intéresse à la migration des Mexicains au Canada sous la forme de l’asile, flux migratoire que le Canada a tenté de contrer en resserrant ses frontières. Cette exclusion s’est produite simultanément à celle vécue par les Mexicains vivant ou désirant se rendre aux États-Unis. Ainsi, en Amérique du Nord, dans un contexte de profonde intégration économique, la majorité des Mexicains sont privés d’accès à la mobilité et par conséquent de la possibilité de jouir de droits à travers les frontières. Ce phénomène engendre un régime hiérarchisé de citoyenneté au sein de cet espace. Intimement reliée aux thèmes de l’inclusion / exclusion, la citoyenneté est surtout conceptualisée comme un statut rattaché à l’État ou comme un ensemble de droits dérivant de ce statut. Cette recherche met l’emphase sur de nouvelles manières d’appréhender ce concept, telles la citoyenneté comme un processus hégémonique ou comme une pratique. Ainsi, nous tentons de connaître les raisons pour lesquelles les Mexicains ont demandé l’asile à Montréal (Canada) et de quelles façons ces motifs peuvent être reliés à la citoyenneté. Nous cherchons à vérifier si l’exclusion des Mexicains aux États-Unis a un rôle à jouer dans cette migration. Nous explorons aussi la correspondance entre ce flux migratoire et le concept d’acte de citoyenneté, théorisé par Isin (2008), qui fait référence à une pratique où les individus revendiquent des droits, même s’ils ne possèdent pas le statut de citoyen. Les conclusions de cette recherche nous apprennent que les Mexicains ont demandé l’asile en raison d’une privation de citoyenneté substantielle au Mexique, fortement reliée à la formation de l’espace nord-américain. Par ailleurs, les demandes d’asile sont des conséquences directes de l’exclusion des Mexicains de cet espace. Qui plus est, elles coïncident avec la notion d’« acte de citoyenneté ». Finalement, le résultat de cet acte, qui cherchait l’inclusion et l’acquisition de droits, s’avère mitigé et inégal. / This research focuses on the migration of Mexicans to Canada in the form of asylum, a migration flow that Canada tried to counter by tightening its borders. This exclusion occurred simultaneously with that experienced by Mexicans living in or wishing to travel to the United States. Thus, in North America, in a context of deep economic integration, the majority of Mexicans are deprived of access to mobility and hence the ability to enjoy rights across borders. This phenomenon creates a hierarchical regime of citizenship in this space. Intimately related to the themes of inclusion / exclusion, citizenship is generally conceptualized as a status attached to the state or as a set of rights deriving from this status. This research focuses on ways of understanding the concept of citizenship including as a practice or as a hegemonic process. Thus, we attempt to understand why Mexicans have sought asylum in Montreal (Canada) and the ways in which their actions can be linked to citizenship. We seek to verify whether the exclusion of Mexicans in the United States has a role to play in this migration. We also explore the correlation between this migration flow and the concept of an act of citizenship, theorized by Isin (2008), which refers to a practice where individuals claim rights, regardless of whether they possess or not the status associated to citizenship. The findings of this research indicate that Mexicans sought asylum due to deprivation of substantial citizenship in Mexico, strongly related to the formation of the North American space. Moreover, asylum applications are direct consequences of the exclusion of Mexicans from the same transnational space. Moreover, they coincide with the notion of "act of citizenship." Finally, the result of this act, which sought inclusion and rights acquisition, proves to be mixed and uneven. / La presente investigación se centra en el fenómeno de la migración de Mexicanos en busca de asilo en Canadá, flujo migratorio al que Canadá ha intentado oponerse cerrando sus fronteras. Esta exclusión se ha producido simultáneamente a la que viven los mexicanos que desean migrar a los Estados Unidos o que ya habitan allí. De esta manera, en América del Norte, en un contexto de franca integración económica, los mexicanos son privados del acceso a la movilidad y por consiguiente, de la posibilidad de gozar de derechos a través de las fronteras. Este fenómeno genera un régimen jerarquizado de ciudadanía al interior de la región norteamericana. Íntimamente ligado a los temas de la inclusión/exclusión, la ciudadanía es conceptualizada principalmente como un estatus ligado al Estado o como un conjunto de derechos que derivan de dicho estatus. La presente investigación pone el énfasis en nuevas maneras de concebir el concepto de ciudadanía, como un proceso hegemónico o como una práctica. De esta manera, tratamos de conocer las razones por las que los mexicanos han solicitado el asilo en Montreal, Canadá y de qué manera estos motivos pueden relacionarse con la ciudadanía. Buscamos verificar si la exclusión de los mexicanos en los Estados Unidos juega un rol en esta migración. También exploramos la correspondencia entre dicho flujo migratorio y el concepto de acto de ciudadanía teorizado por Isin (2008), que se refiere a una práctica en la que los individuos reivindican derechos, incluso si no poseen el estatus de ciudadano. Las conclusiones de esta investigación demuestran que los mexicanos han solicitado el asilo debido a una privación de ciudadanía sustancial en México, fuertemente ligada a la formación del espacio norte americano. Por otra parte, las solicitudes de asilo son una consecuencia directa de la exclusión que sufren los mexicanos en este espacio. Además, estas solicitudes coinciden con la noción de “acto de ciudadanía”. Finalmente, el resultado de este acto, que busca la inclusión y la adquisición de derechos, se revela mitigada y desigual.

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse au changement de la notion d’asile à travers l’incorporation du concept de genre et son impact sur les processus de demande d’asile et l’octroi du statut de réfugié pour les personnes victimes de violences liées au genre au Canada. À partir d’une perspective diachronique sur les transmutations de l’asile et des transformations sociales et culturelles de ce phénomène social, nous enregistrons des tensions et des contradictions qui émanent de son application et des discours qui lui sont reliés. L’observation des dynamiques contradictoires qui s’enchevêtrent dans ce champ indique une tension dialectique entre les droits humains et la citoyenneté, une symbiose dans le développement des droits de la femme et les lois sur les réfugiés et des contradictions comme celles entre le relativisme et l’essentialisme. L’examen du processus de demande d’asile pour les femmes en particulier victimes de violences liées au genre à travers l’analyse des transformations sociales et culturelles signale le caractère éminemment politique de ce phénomène qui situe l’asile au carrefour du procès d’émancipation du sujet politique. / This thesis focuses on the change of the concept of asylum through the incorporation of the gender concept and its impact on the application process of asylum and the granting of status refugee for victims of gender violence in Canada. From a diachronic perspective on the transmutations of asylum and of social and cultural transformations of this social phenomenon, we record the tensions and contradictions be issued by its application and its related discourse. The observation that conflicting dynamics tied in this field displays a dialectical tension between human rights and citizenship, a symbiosis in the development of women’s rights and laws on refugees and contradictions as those between the relativism and essentialism. The review of asylum process especially for women in particular victims of gender violence through an analysis of social and cultural change signals the highly political nature of this phenomenon and lies asylum at the crossroads in the process of emancipation of the political subject.

Bakgrund: Asylsökande patienter drabbas ofta av psykisk ohälsa relaterat till stress i samband med flykt och svåra levnadsförhållanden. Som omvårdnadsansvarig ansvarar sjuksköterskan bland annat för att hjälpa människor med det som de själva hade utfört om de hade kraften. På grund av språkförbistringar och kulturbetingade förväntningar kan ibland vårdandet försvåras. För att kunna arbeta effektivt med asylsökande patienter behövs fördjupade kunskaper i hur sjuksköterskor beskriver sitt arbete med asylsökande patienter. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda asylsökande patienter i psykiatrisk vård. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ studie med induktiv ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fem sjuksköterskor verksamma inom psykiatrisk vård. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Dataanalysen resulterade i två kategorier med fem respektive två subkategorier vardera. Den första kategorin beskriver sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av hinder och möjligheter i relation till vårdandet av asylsökande patienter med underkategorier: kulturella skillnader, egenpåverkan och behovet av handledning, behov av information, förhållningssätt samt patientens nätverk. Den andra kategorin beskriver sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av hinder och möjligheter i relation till externa instanser, med underkategorier; tolk och asylsökningsprocessen. Diskussion: Resultatet diskuteras utifrån Leiningers Soluppgångsmodell samt annan relevant forskning. Soluppgångsmodellen ger stöd för sjuksköterskor i mötet med patienter med en annan kulturell bakgrund, vilket kan vara viktigt för att arbeta holistiskt. / Background: Asylum seeking patients often suffer from mental health problems related to stress during flight and harsh living conditions. Being responsible for the care, nurses are responsible to help people with what they themselves have difficulties performing or are unable to do themselves. Due to language difficulties and cultural conditional expectations the caring of patients within this group can sometimes be suffering. In order to work effectively with asylum seeking patients in psychiatric care, it is required to possess a thorough knowledge of how nurses describe their work with asylum seeking patients. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe nurses' experiences of caring for asylum seeking patients in psychiatric care. Method: The study is a qualitative study with the inductive approach in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with five nurses working in psychiatric care. The collected data were analyzed according to qualitative content analysis. Results: Data analysis resulted in two categories with five and two subcategories each. The first category describes the nurses' descriptions of the obstacles and opportunities in relation to asylum seekers patients with subcategories: cultural differences, personal impact and the need for guidance, the need of information, approaches, and patient social networks. The second category describes nurses' descriptions of the obstacles and opportunities in relation to external instances, with subcategories; interpreter and asylum process. Discussions: The results are discussed from Leininger’s Sunrise Model and other relevant research. Sunrise model provides support for nurses in the meeting with patients with a different cultural background, which can be important to work holistically.

Why does the European Union focus on controlling irregular immigration at the external border? The emphasis presents a paradox as most irregular migrants in the EU arrive through legal channels and subsequently overstay or violate the conditions of their visa. In order to explore this paradox, the thesis examines two case studies, Malta and Cyprus. As small island states on the Union’s southern periphery, the two are ostensibly unable to resist the transfer of migration controls and asylum responsibility to the EU’s external borders. Yet, employing nonmaterial power, namely by highlighting the perceived migration pressures they are under, the two states have successfully attracted significant financial and practical support from other member states. In doing so, they have influenced policymaking within EU migration governance, but have ultimately reinforced the emphasis on controlling irregular immigration at the external border by portraying the phenomenon as a crisis. This thesis not only sheds light on the interaction between the EU and the two states under investigation, but combines three levels of analysis – the regional, national, and local. The crisis narrative detrimentally affects the migrant and refugee populations as it encourages the adoption of restrictive and deterrent measures rather than ensuring access to rights and long-term integration. Nevertheless, this population is not without agency. It is their individual decisions to move across national borders without state authorisation that in the aggregate both compels states into dialogue about the issue and provides the basis for the dynamic between the EU and these two member states.