The war in Ukraine has led to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians. Refugee policy hasalways been hotly debated and the Swedish political debate has been divided since Swedenhas received refugees from a lot of war-torn countries. Previous research has shown thatrefugees from different parts of the world are portrayed in different terms. Therefore thisstudy aims to compare discourses in the portrayal of Syrian refugees during the years2014-2015 and Ukrainian refugees in 2022 respectively in the Swedish political discourse.Specifically, it will be examined how the parties Sweden Democrats and the Moderates haveexpressed themselves in political statements about the Syrian refugees in the years 2014-2015compared to the Ukrainian refugees in 2022. The aim is also to critically analyze thesediscourses and how "us and them" identities are constructed. In order to carry out the study, acritical discourse analysis and Fairclough's three-dimensional model has been applied to theempirical material. The theoretical framework that has been helpful in analyzing the politicaldiscourse on refugees has been the postcolonial theory, the theory of racialization andOrientalism. The study concluded that Syrian and Ukrainian refugees are portrayeddifferently. Syrian refugees are mostly talked about in negative terms, while Ukrainianrefugees are described in positive terms. The result of the study also showed that the Syrianrefugees were mostly excluded to be described as "them" and the Ukrainian refugees wereincluded in a "us". These findings align with results from previous research in studies ofrefugee portrayal.

The paper examines the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Poland from the organization employee’s point of view. A qualitative method was used by the researcher’s where semi-structured interviews were conducted with four staff members of Polish organizations working with refugees in their profession. The collected data was analyzed with the critical reflective theory. In the findings three major themes could be identified: Reception of Ukrainian refugees, satisfactions and dissatisfactions of the employees, and the difference in attitude towards Ukrainian and Syrian refugees. The empirical findings showed that the displaced Ukrainians were overall welcomed with a very positive attitude by the Polish people, and that there were contrasts to how this attitude has been different from the treatment that Syrian refugees have been met with. Finally, it was concluded that the main challenges that these employees foresaw in the future were the economic and professional lack of resources to in meeting the basic needs of these individuals.

In our digital society, media platforms have become an essential tool for refugees as they flee their home and arrive in new countries. The ongoing war in Ukraine has forced millions of civilians to seek protection and to negotiate and rebuild their lives in unfamiliar cities. Uppsala, Sweden, has received approximately 1500 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war. It is crucial to understand their communication pathways and the ways in which they utilize  media platforms, as this understanding can aid in supporting their integration process.  The purpose of this study is to enhance comprehension of how female Ukrainian refugees in Uppsala utilize media platforms, and to investigate how social media can be used as an asset in the integration processes. To address the research questions, a total of 5 Ukrainian women residing in Uppsala were interviewed, and a netnography was conducted. The collected data was analyzed using a thematic analysis, supported by the theoretical framework of Uses and Gratification and the model of Refugee Integration through Social Media.  The findings indicate that various media platforms are utilized by Ukrainian women for social, informational, cultural and entertainment-related purposes. Some of the most prominent social media platforms that emerged in the findings were Telegram, Facebook, Viber and Instagram. Other, traditional media, such as TV and radio, was also employed for obtaining information and learning the Swedish language. The results further demonstrate that social media can be an asset for integration within the dimensions of fostering social connections, exploring employment opportunities and supporting language learning. These were all identified themes in the Facebook group that was used for the netnographic investigation.

Based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with six journalists from five different editorial offices in Sweden, this study explores the journalists’ role perceptions and professional ideals in relation to their reporting of the war in Ukraine and its refugees. Three research questions were formulated to find out which ideals the journalists subscribe to (on a general level), whether they are perceived differently in relation to war reporting than other genres and, lastly, which ideals the journalists found to be the most important when reporting about the Ukrainian refugees and the war. The theoretical framework, consisting of sociological perspectives and Hanitzsch and Vos (2017) process model of journalistic roles, was applied in the analysis. This study shows that the professional ideals that have been identified and established by previous research, such as informing the public and reporting objectively, remain important also during a war situation. What might change, is the extent to which the ideals are followed. Reporting the truth was more emphasized in the context of a war, while presenting different opinions and sides was considered less important. The ideal of supporting democracy was found to be given precedence over objectivity in the case of the war in Ukraine. Arousing compassion for the Ukrainians and raising the underrepresented was also deemed meaningful. This study highlights the situational aspect of journalistic roles and ideals, suggesting that they are not quite as stable and homogenous as they have been made out to be, which can be further examined in other contexts.

For a long time, the situation of refugees and asylum seekers has been a source of concern for EU Member states. While different European countries' policies and practices have received much scrutiny, the discourses they produce are less visible in academia. This study thus explores the policy decisions and laws behind the EU’s responses to the refugee crises of 2015 and 2022 by comparing Syrian refugees to Ukrainian refugees in order to understand the distinction in treatment. Through a postcolonial perspective, this study employs a Mediated Discourse Analysis that presents a mainly conventional discourse of refugees and asylum seekers in the context of policies and laws. The analysis found a strong influence of ‘Eurocentrism’ through exclusionary policies, implying a continued concept of 'othering' and the 'myth of differences' as the underlying reason for different asylum policies and laws affecting the right to seek asylum.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has forced millions of Ukrainian citizens, especially women and children, to seek refuge in other countries, including Sweden. Given the large number of Ukrainian refugee children, it is of utmost importance that they have the possibility to continue their education abroad. In Sweden, Ukrainian refugees have access to education, a right provided by their status as asylum seekers under the Temporary Protection Directive. This thesis aims to explore the reception of Ukrainian refugee students into Swedish schools, by focusing on the communication and interactions between Swedish schools' personnel, classes' collectives, and Ukrainian refugee students and their families. The data used for this study were obtained through conducting five semi-structured interviews with two middle- and high-school teachers and three studiehandledare. The results show that, in general, Swedish schools, teachers, and studiehandledare make substantial efforts to facilitate the reception and integration of Ukrainian refugee pupils; at the same time, the classes' collectives were described as cordial and helpful. Despite the welcoming nature of Swedish schools and the safety that Sweden provides, the Ukrainian refugee pupils and their families struggle to find a sense of belonging, especially since the majority of Ukrainian refugees wish to return to Ukraine once the war is over. The belonging paradox experienced by Ukrainian refugees is, thus, characterised by their desire to express gratitude towards Sweden and, at the same time, being unable to get accustomed to the Swedish culture and education system while waiting to return home.