This thesis is a qualitative study focusing on the situation that has evolved in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from the beginning of 2018, when migrants and refugees started entering the country in large numbers in the context of the so-called Balkan route. The approach adopted in the thesis is informed by critical studies emphasizing the asymmetries entailed in the emerging multilevel governance of migration. The European Union (EU), the BiH state, IOM, civil society, activists, and citizens, are inserted in a “situational map” presenting their inter-relations, and the potential of each to influence the situation of concern. This thesis analyses in details the role of the EU, which is implementing in BiH its security-informed approach to irregular migration through externalization and multilevelling strategies. Eight semi-structured interviews allow the investigation into the potential and challenges of a “governance from below”. The main argument of this thesis is that the EU, outsourcing its strategy to curb irregular migration to BiH, fails to address the humanitarian crisis that is developing there, besides mining the stability and democracy of the country.

Over the last decade, a new trend of Global Remittances has emerged within the international development community, especially a growing interest in women’s migration and remittances, and their potential for poverty reduction and economic growth. Due to the staggering amount of transnational money transfers, migrant remittances have become a central component in multilateral discussions on alternative development financing, and has been included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The present study thus explores the multiple ways in which this gendered migration-remittance-development nexus has come to play out the recent years, seeking to understand how the “banking the unbanked” logic along with microfinance profit-making agendas serves neoliberal governmental and infrastructural discursive formations of transnational migration and its development impact. By using a decolonial approach, the study uses critical discourse analysis to scrutinize selected multilateral actors’ policy documents to explore in what ways migrant women’s “financial inclusion, independence and economic empowerment” have been included in the goals and targets within the 2030 Agenda. The main finding is that the rights-based approach towards migrants in the sustainability discourse rather tends to dismantle migrant agency into monetary practices which have come to be an important means for the financialization of migrant and non-migrant communities as well as for the transmittance of western knowledge doctrines, and in turn, are to prolong regimes of “modern slavery.”

Sweden has had an increase in refugees in recent years, while the situation in the housing market has been increasingly constrained. Housing has in earlier research been shown to form an important part of the integration of refugees in society. In Sweden, refugees have the option to arrange for their own housing (in Swedish ‘Eget boende’, EBO) or be accommodated by the immigration authorities (‘Anläggningsboende’, ABO). This study aims to examine how the national strategies EBO and ABO are applied in municipal practice through a case study of Botkyrka municipality. The primary source material for this study consists of interviews conducted with people who are working with the accommodation of refugees, but also related government official reports. The study indicates that there are a number of problems related to the strategies EBO and ABO. Interviewees expressed a desire for a more equitable and planned receiving system. As is argued in the study, social housing, housing subsidies and investigating the municipal housing companies' competitive opportunities, are important solutions that could provide refugees with better chances on the Swedish housing market. In sum the study contributes in part to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Swedish housing market, policies and long-term planning, and in part of the opportunities for persons with newly granted residence permits to establish themselves on the Swedish housing market. / Sverige har haft ett ökat flyktingmottagande de senaste åren, samtidigt som situationen på bostadsmarknaden blivit allt mer ansträngd. Bostaden har i tidigare studier visat sig vara viktig för flyktingars etablering i samhället. I Sverige kan en asylsökande välja mellan att ordna ett ‘Eget boende’ (EBO) alternativt att bo i Migrationsverkets Anläggningsboenden (ABO). Om en asylsökande beviljas uppehållstillstånd, kan den som nyanländ i ABO bli anvisad en bostad i en kommun. En nyanländ som bott i EBO under asyltiden fortsätter göra det när den fått uppehållstillstånd. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur de nationella strategierna EBO och ABO omvandlas till kommunal praxis genom en fallstudie i Botkyrka kommun. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes intervjuer med personer som har arbetsuppgifter kopplade till asylsökande och nyanländas boende, men även rapporter och artiklar studerades.  Studien indikerar att det finns ett antal problem kopplade till boendestrategierna EBO och ABO. EBO kan innebära osäkra boendeförhållanden för individen karakteriserade av trångboddhet och otrygghet. Ur ett kommunperspektiv innebär EBO svårigheter i planering för funktioner som skola och bostadsförsörjning eftersom kommunen saknar vetskap om hur många EBO som är bosatta i kommunen. ABO kan innebära trångboddhet men också att individen får vänta länge på att etableringsinsatserna kan startas. Studien visar att det finns skillnader i vilka möjligheter boende i ABO och EBO har för att få en permanent bostad. Enligt materialet från intervjuerna finns en önskan om ett mer jämlikt och planerat mottagningssystem. Genom att testa lösningar som social housing, bostadsbidragslöfte och utreda de kommunala bostadsbolagens konkurrensmöjligheter skulle nyanlända kunna få en bättre chans på bostadsmarknaden. Sammanfattningsvis bidrar studien med en djupare förståelse av relationen mellan bostadsmarknad, politik och långsiktig planering och om vilka möjligheter nyanlända har att etablera sig på bostadsmarknaden. Studien ringar också in problem som uppkommer i arbetet mellan stat, region och kommun när det gäller bostäder för nyanlända, och ger rekommendationer på möjliga lösningar.

This audience study explores the changes of news consumption and avoidance behaviour by young millennial immigrants from various backgrounds, living in Stockholm, Sweden. Considering various theoretical frameworks, such as the intentional vs. unintentional model (Skovsgaard & Andersen, 2020), the migration change model (Tabor & Milfont, 2011), as well as a combination of a phenomenology of news model (Bengtsson & Johansson, 2021) and media repertoires established by Swart et al. (2017), a qualitative research has been conducted consisting of eight semi-structured interviews. Through a thematic analysis possible patterns have been established and findings show that individuals tend to change their behaviour in news consumption for various reasons. (1) Participants want to be able to establish their own news-routines and use their migration as an opportunity for a new start, (2) there is a certain influence by people closest to them and with their social circle changing, their (news) interests change as well, and (3) motivation and interest play an important role in shaping new consumption behaviours in a new country: the more one is interested in learning more about the new country, its culture and its language, the more likely they are to check that country’s traditional news media sources.

Integration är ett omtalat fenomen över hela Europa i och med den ökande globaliseringen som bidrar till att människor av flera olika skäl rör sig över landsgränser i större utsträckning än någonsin. Ett gemensamt krafttag krävs för att invandrare ska integreras och inkluderas fullt ut i sina värdsamhällen, vilket gynnar både invandraren i fråga och samhället i stort. I föreliggande studie analyseras Europeiska kommissionens handlingsplaner för integration med avsikt att skapa en djupare förståelse för vad kommissionen ser som de främsta verktygen för att uppnå framgångsrik integration för invandrare. EU-kommissionen har publicerat två handlingsplaner, en från 2016, strax efter flyktingkrisen, och sedan ett uppföljande plan år 2020. Syftet med studien är att identifiera vilka verktyg för integration som bör prioriteras enligt EU-kommissionen, hur detta förändrats över tid samt hur det skiljer sig alternativt överensstämmer med Diaz integrationsmodell som utgör studiens teoretiska ramverk. Diaz integrationsmodell förklarar integrationsprocessen utifrån sju dimensioner som appliceras på texterna i enlighet med textanalys med inriktning på kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visar att kommissionen företrädesvis prioriterar åtgärder kopplade till den ekonomiska dimensionen vilket syftar till arbetsmarknadsåtgärder och ekonomisk självständighet. Europeiska kommissionen har i den senare handlingsplanen ett betydligt större fokus på att själva utföra åtgärder inom kommunikativ integration vilket innebär språkkunskap och tillgång till information. Utifrån detta dras slutsatsen att handlingsplanerna förändras i takt med att behovsbilden ändrats några år efter flyktingkrisen då många invandrare anlände till Europa. Vidare tycks kommissionen prioritera sådana åtgärder som gynnar samhället i stort, främst kopplade till ekonomisk välgång, medan exempelvis politisk integration är lågprioriterat trots handlingsplanernas tydliga koppling till politiska aktörer. / Integration is a well-known phenomenon all over Europe as a result of the increasing globalization that contributes to people moving across boarders more than ever. A joint effort is necessary for immigrants to integrate into their host societies which benefits not only the immigrant but the society overall. This thesis analyses the European Commission’s Action Plan on Integration in order to create a profound understanding of the main tools for integration of immigrants according to the Commission. The Commission has published two action plans, one from 2016, shortly after the refugee crisis, and one from 2020. The aim of the thesis is to identify which tools for integration are prioritized, how this changes over time and how it relates to Diaz integration model which is the theory that is used in the thesis. Diaz integration model explains the integration process in seven dimensions. The dimensions are used as a tool to interpret the texts in accordance with a qualitative content analysis. The results suggest that the Commission mainly prioritizes efforts related to the economic dimension, meaning workforce measures and economic self-sufficiency. The European Commission increases their focus on communicative integration in the latter action plan and intends to implement more measures to ensure improved language skills and better access to information. This leads to the conclusion that the action plans changes as the needs and requirements for integration tools changes a few years after the refugee crisis when many immigrants arrived to Europe. The commission seems to prioritize measures that favor the entire society, mainly referring to economic welfare, while for example political integration is low priority despite the  plans association with political actors.

In recent years Sweden has witnessed an increasing number of newcomers into its schools from an array of sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds. Rather than see this as a ‘burden’, this case study looks at ways teachers can embrace diversity, build upon students' prior knowledge and experiences and challenge traditional notions of how knowledge is produced in the classroom. Drawing on multicultural and critical pedagogies, 11 class teachers across four subject disciplines and working at 2 different schools, in a provincial town in the south of Sweden, were asked about their pedagogical practices teaching in mainstream classrooms with students of different ethnic backgrounds. The analysis focuses on whether the teachers are able to create spaces for inclusive learning. Findings suggest that while aspiring to a participatory model of teaching which welcomes students’ views and experiences newcomers are largely excluded from such practice further cementing their marginalised status. Furthermore, in navigating dominant discourse around race, ethnicity and cultural diversity teachers, for the most part, end up reproducing stereotypes or rely on common sense understandings of otherness which do not change the status quo. However, some of the teachers’ pedagogical practices demonstrate ways of moving beyond normative practice towards a more critical approach by providing students with alternative ways of knowing that aim to challenge stereotypes, avoid generalisations and disrupt the Western/Eurocentric ideal of the universality of truth.

Sverige är ett mångkulturellt land där det finns människor från olika delar av världen. Migrationen till Sverige har funnits sedan 60-talet och migranterna som har migrerat till Sverige har försökt att anpassa sig till den svenska arbetsmarknaden för att kunna skapa ett bättre liv. Många invandrare har lyckats att ta olika positioner på den svenska arbetsmarknaden, det är många som jobbar inom olika yrkesområde såsom; ledare, lärare, ingenjörer och så vidare. Men frågan är, hur har dessa invandrare lyckats att integrera sig i den svenska arbetsmarknaden? Vem har hjälpt dem med integrationen och hur gick de tillväga med jobbsökandet i det nya främmande landet? Studien fokuserar på att undersöka hur den albanska och arabiska målgruppen, som har invandrat till Sverige i vuxen ålder använt sig av sina nätverk för att hitta sina första jobb i Sverige. Studiens frågeställningar är: 1) Hur har intervjupersonerna gått tillväga för att få deras första jobb i den svenska arbetsmarknaden? 2) Vilken betydelse har sociala nätverk och socialt kapital haft för informanterna när det kommer till integrationen i arbetsmarknaden? I studien används teoretiska begrepp som socialt kapital och socialt nätverk. Studien genomförs med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod och en egocentrisk nätverksanalys, där det genomfördes åtta kvalitativa intervjuer. Resultatet av studien visar hur två målgrupper; albansktalande och arabisktalande invandrare har använt sig av sina nätverk och socialt kapital för att få information om lediga jobb. Resultaten av studien visar att det finns skillnader mellan hur den albanska respektive den arabiska målgruppen använt sig av sina nätverk och social kapitalt för att tillträde i den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Den arabisktalande målgruppen har använt sig av ett kontaktnätverk som består av personer från samma land medan den albanska målgruppen har integrerat sig på arbetsmarknaden med hjälp av sin socialt kapital som de har skaffat under deras första praktik i Sverige.

This is an undergraduate study which examines the availability of guidance counselor services given in Sámi languages in the Sámi administrative areas in Sweden. The questions at issue are:  How available is guidance counselling in the Sámi languages in Sweden's 25 administrative areas? What are the counsellors' views regarding Sámi clients being able to speak their own language during a session?  The administrative areas were selected since they have an obligation to offer certain services in Sámi languages. The areas are located in 25 Swedish counties and a survey with questions regarding the availability of guidance counselling in the Sámi languages was distributed to the counsellors employed therein. None of the counsellors has ever used a Sámi interpreter, is able to speak a Sámi language, and the majority haven’t identified a need for it with their clients.  The result is analysed with a critical discourse method and the theories of stigma, hegemony, Othering and ethnocentrism are used. The analysis shows that Sámi people are being Othered and that the guidance counsellors are operating from an ethnocentric view, which can lead to stigma and hegemony in guidance sessions with Sámi clients.

The case study of this thesis is the analysis of international health care students joined the emergency call of local authorities and performed emergency work during COVID-19 to help the Hungarian health care teams and facilities manage the pandemic. Through this case, the thesis puts an existing student interaction typology (Rose-Redwood and Rose-Redwood, 2013) to the test, and sets out to answer how the COVID-19-induced changes in their typology affected the students’ experience of being a migrant in Hungary. With semi-structured interviews and an inductive approach, the thesis identifies three recurring feelings – isolation, gratitude and responsibility – and the core argument of the thesis is that the feelings and migration experiences that the student shared were connected to the disruption of the student interaction typology. This study informs our understanding of student mobility and helps further research account for atypical situations in student mobility research.

There is a general recognition within the social sciences that extensive mobility challenges how we perceive the notion of home. With this idea as its starting point, this thesis explores how situations of hardship impact the ways in which mobile professionals negotiate and construct their homes. The actor-network theory (ANT) has been used as the means to explore the interactions between the people who inform this study and the multidimensional characteristics of the hardship setting. Through individual, open-ended interviews, the research draws upon the experiences of five international civil servants from the United Nations (UN) system of organizations who are assigned to hardship duty stations. Applying ANT to the empirical material drew the attention to the identification of five principal entities (or actors) that come into play in the negotiation of home construction, namely the civil servant, [in]security, mobility, ownership and social relations. The influence of the various nonhuman actors on home construction varied according to the individual and their transnational ties and professional status – those with family nuclei tended to situate their homes in terms of territoriality, whereas for others, factors such as privacy, materiality and social interaction weighed more heavily in the act of creating home.