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.

This thesis studies how structural violence, development and migration are related. It focuses on Tunisian migration and the views and understandings of selected Tunisians in the region of La Marsa. Although migration, development and structural violence are large research fields on their own, the combination of them is not as common. In this case study they are used to analyse the understanding of migration in relation to structural violence and development. This single case study is based on 10 interviews conducted in La Marsa, Tunisia. The focus was based on selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: 1, no poverty; 2, zero hunger and 4, quality education. Through analysing interviews and observations this thesis discovers how the selected interviewed Tunisians understand and view Tunisian migration regarding the sustainable development goals. Focus was put on the government not providing for their inhabitants and that structural violence was present. The participants also believed development to be important for the success of the country but that it was not possible if the migration continued in such large frequencies.

The study highlights the significant role that cultural doulas play in supporting and guiding migrant women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period in Sweden. The Swedish healthcare system is understaffed, overburdened, and medically dominated, making it difficult for nurses and midwives to provide continuous and culturally-sensible care to their clients. Cultural doulas can significantly support their clients and the maternal healthcare system. However, improvements must be made in the working conditions of cultural doulas to create a sustainable project that can serve many migrant families in the future. The study emphasizes the need to recognize the significant contribution of cultural doulas to improving equitable maternal healthcare in ethnically diverse Sweden.

The othering and exclusion of religious minority groups in Georgia is often understood through the prism of religious nationalism, which is argued to have developed as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the respective need to fill up the leftover systemic void. Ethno-national and religious identity markers were used to create the image of true, pre-Soviet Georgian – Christian, ethnically Georgian group. Although, this understanding offers an explanation for the current social position of religious minority groups of the country, it fails to account and understand the link with and the impact of the Soviet regime, and how the collapse of a secular system produced highly religious discourses. Therefore, the work presented here seeks to understand the role and impact of Russian/Soviet colonization on the current social position of religious minority groups in Georgia. In order to answer the research aim, this thesis employs a decolonial approach and situates Soviet Russia as a colonial power, a successor of Tsarist Imperial Russia and its colonial practices of subjugation, classification, and social hierarchies. The empirical focus of the study is Adjarian Muslims, as they constitute ethnically Georgian religious minority, therefore holding a peculiar place of intersection of identities. The primary sources of the research are dialogical interviews with self-identifying Adjarian Muslims, while the secondary sources, such as the existing publications and research surrounding the social position of the group are analyzed by utilizing the ethnographic content analysis method. The findings of the study suggest that the remnants of colonial past still have an effect on the current social structures and social developments. The exclusion and othering of Adjarian Muslims in Georgia is similar and can be traced back to the practice of ethnicization of Islam, which is rooted in the Soviet/Socialist modernity and the enactment of Muslim groups as the inherent others to the civilized Russians. Due to this, Adjarian Muslims are marked by Islam notwithstanding their personal religious affiliation, and are thus excluded from the dominant understanding of Georgianness and the respective discussions. In addition, the study findings suggest that the region of Adjara is often regarded as the orient to the capital, and Adjarian Muslims are viewed as objects to be saved and civilized, rather than the equal subjects of the state.

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.

Spain has an intricate relationship with their previous colonies. Relationships built up through centuries of intermingling have resulted in favourable integration trajectories for migrants from previous colonies in comparison with migrants from other countries. First through explicit favourable legislation, however this changed when Spain entered the European Union, meaning that the legislation had to be in line with the idea of controlled migration followed by the European Union. However, through the culturization, laborization and the criminalization of migration, it could be argued that migrants from previous colonies are still more favoured in comparison with migrants from different regions, exemplified by riots fueled by racism against labour migrants from North Africa in El Ejido in 2000. Besides the relationship with their previous colonies, Spain also has a long history with Northern Africa in which Maurophobia has played a significant role. This comparative case study compares the integration trajectory of two different migrant groups from both Latin America and Africa within Spain, more specifically into the local context of La Coruña. Even though Spain, and in the broader perspective the EU, are the authorities which create the legislation regarding migration and integration, the local authorities are the ones responsible for the implementation of these legislations. This study aims to demonstrate the importance of the analysis of integration in the local context as these could vastly differ from place to place, even within the borders of a nation-state. This case study compares the integration trajectory of Senegalese and Peruvian migrants within the context of La Coruña regarding access to the welfare state and the labour market.

Since the 2019 territorial defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in northeastern Syria, thousands of foreign nationals affiliated with the Islamic militant group have been detained in refugee camps and prisons in the region - the humanitarian conditions of which have come under increased scrutiny. As a result, the repatriation of these individuals has become a contentious migration-related policy issue and has led to diverse state responses. In the North American context, there is a striking contrast between Canada’s ‘passive’ approach and the United States’ ‘active’ role in these repatriation efforts. Through a comparative critical discourse analysis (CDA) using Fairclough’s methodological three-step framework and Balzacq’s sociological securitization theory, the public rationale of Canadian-American policy diversion is explored. As a result, this study contributes new knowledge to the field, providing unique insights on how and why two closely-allied countries justify their engagement with IS- affiliated citizens in fundamentally different ways.

This thesis aims to outline how the labour exploitation of migrant workers is problematized in contemporary Canadian labour migration policy discourse; the consequences of this problematization(s), and possibilities for creating an alternative critical space for discourse. Using concepts of (social) harm, (un)freedom, and (hyper)precarity as departure points for analysis, this project endeavours to untangle problematizations of migrant worker exploitation from their representations in Canadian policy discourse through a post-structural policy analysis. From this theoretical perspective, policy discourse will be analyzed employing Carol Bacchi’s (2009) ‘What is the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) methodology. With this theoretical and methodological basis, the goal of this thesis is to make space to open a critical dialogue between the consequences of the global neoliberal capitalist order, Canadian policy discourse, the Canadian border/migration regime, and the conditions of migrant labourers caught in the middle of this complex nexus.

This study aims to identify potential ways in which the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) improves the quality of life for IDPs. Relying on the concept of bare life, it answers if and how the convention prevents bare life. Drawing on theory and previous research on bare life in relation to IDPs, the analytical framework forms four theoretical dimensions to which the Kampala Convention, Translating The Kampala Convention Into Practice: A Stocktaking Exercise (ICRC, 2017) and The Kampala Convention: Key Recommendations Ten Years On (ICRC, 2019) are applied. Based on a grading, the results tell of the convention’s effects. The IDPs’ rights and political agency are adequately respected; quotidian culture and prevention of exclusionary practices are promoted yet insufficiently. Adding humanitarianism, biopolitics and host communities as additional findings, there are areas that should be carefully respected, but bare life is mostly prevented. Hopefully, this study can add knowledge to the progress of the Kampala Convention and provide a framework for similar analyses of policy and practice on aiding people in distress.

The purpose of this study was to examine pornography consumption among men and women from different generations. By investigating this topic, the aim was to enhance the understanding of the potential negative effects of pornography on individuals and society as a whole, as well as from a postcolonial perspective. The aspect of how norms of heterosexuality influence pornography consumption and attitudes towards violence against women in heterosexual relationships was examined as well. To examine these areas a survey was administered. The target population for the survey was individuals aged 18 and above residing in Sweden. The data used in this study consists of the survey responses from a total of 22 participants. The five theories relevant to the analysis and conclusion of this study included: Judith Butler's theory of gender and sexuality, theories on femininity and masculinity within heteronormative heterosexual relationships, Karl Mannheim's concept of generations, postcolonial theory and the definition of Swedishness. By employing these theories, aspects of power and its impact on gender roles and different ethnicities were explored. The theories were also used to analyze stereotypical norms of masculinity and femininity in heteronormative relationships. Additionally, the material was connected to generational issues to analyze differences across generations. The results showed the complexand multifaceted nature of pornography consumption and its relationship with generations, gender, and postcolonialism. The results provide insights not only into individual consumption patterns but also highlight the broader societal context in which pornography both influences and is influenced by social norms and cultural values. It objectifies women, normalizes violence and power dynamics, and reinforces gender roles and sexual norms. The female participants expressed a critical view of pornography and highlighted the need for change in its portrayal and influence. Pornography doesn't only sexualize women, but it also involves sexualizing various ethnic groups. In terms of changes in pornographic habits across generations, the younger generation, growing up in the digital age, has a different perspective on sex and pornography compared to older generations.