This thesis examines the influence of governance quality on emigration in Latin America during the period of 2005-2010. It goes beyond the traditional focus on corruption and explores the impact of other dimensions of governance represented by the six World Governance Indicators. The research aims to expand the understanding of governance quality's role in emigration and its relationship with socioeconomic factors. The study utilizes quantitative analysis based on secondary data sources to investigate the research questions. The findings highlight the significance of considering multiple dimensions of governance quality beyond corruption in explaining emigration patterns. The theories of Push-Pull, Systems, Institutional, and State Capacity provide a conceptual framework for understanding the relationships between governance quality and Latin-American migration patterns. The analysis demonstrates that a comprehensive understanding of governance quality, along with socioeconomic variables, improves the explanatory power of the model. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex factors driving emigration in Latin America.

Today, many Guatemalans flee the country and leave their home communities behind due to poor living conditions and high unemployment. Irregular migration involves many risks yet is for many seen as a necessity to live a purposeful life. Since attempts to improve these circumstances often is based on Westernized ideals and experiences, this study aims to portray the needs and attitudes from Maya communities in the Sololá region, Guatemala. To achieve this aim, twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted, one with representatives from the international organization for migration (IOM), 4 with mayors in the region and 7 with 8 Maya women who live in these communities. The study was carried out in collaboration with the nongovernmental organisation Natün who are active in the area, working to improve the Maya community's situation. By using the neoclassical theory, the new economics of labour migration and decolonial theory the experiences of the respondents were analysed. The results show that there is a broad spectrum of causes regarding why people feel the need to leave. Moreover, even though people have possibilities in Guatemala, they still search for a better life in the U.S. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and IOM´s purpose was analysed and compared to the actual needs of the community resulting in the conclusion that there is a risk these organization base their work on underlying motives such as stemming migration.

In the field of environmental migration studies, research on social consequences of  development projects has received limited attention. The study highlights the rise of “green grabbing,” e.g., the appropriation of land in the name of climate change mitigation. While there is existing research on the environmental and economic effects of green grabbing, its influence on migration outcomes remains understudied. To address this research gap, the study conducts an exploratory case study of Colombia, a country plagued by internal displacement. It investigates the correlation between green grabbing and internal displacement, considering socioeconomic and political factors. By combining statistical and historical analyses within the world-system theory and the political ecological approach, the research uncovers structural patterns in Colombia and sheds light on the intricate relationship between environmental initiatives and internal displacement, emphasizing the pursuit of profit within the capitalist world-system. Future research directions suggest the use of mediation analysis and qualitative investigation of policy narratives in climate change and migration.

The hotel industry employees have been one of the most affected people in the industry by the Covid-19 pandemic. Immigrant workers and women are not an exception. Considering the literature gap on investigating immigrants in hospitality in Sweden, this thesis aims to understand the immigrant housekeeper worklife post Covid-19. Using a qualitative approach, this study participants were interviewed to share and voice their concerns. Findings indicated that room attendants have faced poor job conditions, additional issues on seeking a job as immigrants, and Covid-19 only hardened existing working conditions.

This research aims to explore the effects of negative media representation on the experiencesof university students residing in Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden. Drawing upon media and masscommunication theories such as Media Shadow theory, Agenda Setting theory, andincorporating elements of Social Identity theory, the study investigates the influence of mediaportrayals on community perception and individual experiences. Through qualitative semistructuredinterviews conducted with fifteen students living in Rosengård, their accounts weretranscribed and analyzed to gain a comprehensive understanding of their experiences. Thefindings indicate that media representation holds significant power in shaping communityperception and profoundly impacts the experiences of residents. This research underscores theimportance of balanced media representation in mitigating negative influences and emphasizesthe need to consider social identity dynamics when examining the impact of media portrayalson individuals' perceived reality and experiences within a specific community.

During the refugee crisis in 2015, Sweden received a record amount of asylum seekers whowere received by civil society. Civil society played a crucial role in the integration process ofasylym seekers and newly arrived. This study concentrates on gaining a deeper understandingand knowledge in the field of integration within Uppsala Municipality, civil society and theircollaboration. The chosen methodology used to carry out this study is qualitative researchapproach. Five organizations within civil society were chosen and totally nine semi-structuredinterviews were included in the study. This study demonstrates that integration is described asa possibility to participate in society on equal terms. There are different integration-promotingactivities for asylum seekers and new arrivals, which increases social integration among them.

Studien studerar vilka olika politiska inriktningar som kan finnas i relation till integration. Det görs främst genom att ett antal valmanifest och motioner från de olika riksdagspartierna analyseras. Materialet hämtades från svensk nationell datatjänst och riksdagens egna arkiv. En riktad innehållsanalys genomfördes sedan på delar av texterna hämtade från motionerna och valmanifesten. Studien visar att det i stora drag finns skillnader i hur de olika riksdagspartierna uttrycker sig i relation till integration och flyktingmottagande. Många partier uttryckte sig i termer av inkludering och delaktighet genom att betona öppenhet, arbete och ett bidragande till samhället. Däremot visade det sig finnas varianter av den inriktningen innehållandes mer eller mindre av formuleringar kring krav. Studien redogör även spekulativt för vilken påverkan de olika inriktningarna eventuellt skulle kunna få för de som arbetar med integration.

This thesis is a close reading of the horror film His House (2020) and has its theoretical base in the works of Sara Ahmed. It focuses on the emotional experience of the film’s lead characters who are South Sudanese asylum seekers in the United Kingdom. The study is set out to chart which emotions the characters feel, which of them are the most overpowering and what does the presence of these emotions imply about the asylum experience. Close reading shows that feelings typically understood as negative are dominant – guilt being particularly present as it is tied to the film’s monster. The thesis argues that the film calls for attention to asylum seekers’ mental health through showing the horrors experienced by the heavily traumatized lead couple. The study also argues that horror fiction is a window to public anxieties, and as such offers a valuable research avenue to ethnic and migration studies as well as social sciences at large.

This study discusses the process of identity-building among second-generation migrants from former Yugoslavia, living in the Southern Region of Sweden, Skåne. The findings of this study have shown that respondents' identity construction is fluid and depends on many factors that influence it, which vary from one individual to another. For instance, language, culture, values, norms, how individuals were raised and where they were born. Moreover, depending on the individuals' experiences and personal choice. Some individuals maintain and reproduce their identity by using the parent’s mother tongue to speak with their family at home and maintain the culture by making Serbian/Bosnian food and choosing to listen to Yugoslavian music. I found that some individuals born in former Yugoslavia feel belongingness to Sweden, where they grew up and were raised instead of where they were born. The feeling of belonging differed from one respondent to the other. Some respondents showed their sense of belonging through feelings and emotions they have attached to the country they were raised in (Sweden). They have established bonds that make them see their belonging to Sweden as necessary. Others attributed their belonging to their environment, place where they were born, or parent's country of origin.

This thesis studies the factors that make international students from non-EU countries move to Hungary for their studies, what their experience in the host society was and how this experience affected their decisions about their post-graduation plans. Using qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews, this research seeks to analyze the different factors that either pull these students to stay in Hungary or relocate to a different country or factors that push these students to return home. These factors are divided into three main groups: professional, personal and social factors. Overall, the results reveal that professional factors play the biggest role in either pulling students to stay in the host country or relocate onwards, while these factors were never mentioned as an incentive to return home. Personal and social factors, on the other hand, affected people differently, as some of the personal or social factors made one stay, while the same factors made others leave.