Social Inclusion Beyond Education and Work: Migrants Meaning‐Making Towards Social Inclusion

In public discourse, the social inclusion of migrants is often regarded as a challenge demanding migrants to increase their engagement in adapting to the new host country. Such imaginaries commonly declare migrants as being unwilling to acquire language skills and specific cultural values. In parallel, formal education is often proposed as the single most important remedy to inclusion, which generally solely implies labor market participation. However, there is a range of other, often neglected, practices that migrants themselves regard as important for their social inclusion in society. This article aims to analyze what practices are assigned meaning by newly arrived migrants in Sweden on their path toward social inclusion in the country. This is a longitudinal interview study with 19 newly arrived adult migrants that were interviewed on two occasions, three years apart. Drawing on a sociocultural perspective, we understand social inclusion as an ongoing process by which individuals become members of different communities. The result shows that important for social inclusion is access to valuable relationships and close social ties. These relations are important in all communities in which the migrants participate. The analysis illustrates three different communities, outside of formal education and employment, that migrants ascribe meaning to concerning language learning and social inclusion. These communities are sports, internships, and civil society engagements. Through its longitudinal design, this study also illustrates how migrants' narratives and their meanings shift with time and how migrants relate to these communities over time

Asimetrično partnerstvo: migrantske organizacije, sindikati i pravobranitelj za ravnopravnost

The study examines civil society agency for social inclusion among Associations Founded on Ethnic Grounds (AFEGs), focusing on their engagement for combating discrimination and enhancing migrant incorporation into the Swedish labour market. The overall rationale of the study investigates the complex institutional conditionality of AFEGs for developing their agency as social movement and civil society actors. The main aim of this study has been to understand how anti-discrimination agencies run by AFEGs, with subsidy support by the state, describe their experiences, and which implications the subsidy may have for the orientation and direction of their actions. The study comprises primarily interviews with anti-discrimination lawyers and heads of two agencies, but also interviews with representatives for the Equality Ombudsman. The greatest challenge for the agencies has been caused by subsidy cutbacks, which have affected both the working conditions of the agencies and other engagements of the AFEGs, such as educational courses among their members, awareness raising concerning the issues of anti-discrimination among different officials, in municipalities, trade unions and among employers. Due to the cutbacks, the civil society actors such as AFEGs have been forced to adapt to market principles by becoming entrepreneurs specialised, in this case, in the field of anti-discrimination law. The study further analyses the effects of this development as well as opportunity structures for collaboration with trade unions and the Equality Ombudsman. Even though these partnerships reveal relational asymmetries, the authors call attention to current and possible future openings in opportunity structures for wider collaboration between AFEGs, trade unions and the Equality Ombudsman.U radu se istražujuje sposobnost djelovanja civilnoga društva vezanu uz društvenu uključenost unutar Udruga organiziranih na etničkoj osnovi (AFEG), a naglasak je na njihovu zalaganju za borbu protiv diskriminacije migranta i za poticanje uključivanja migranata na švedsko tržište rada. U središtu je istraživanja složena institucionalna uvjetovanost AFEG-â, kao društvenoga pokreta i kao akterâ civilnoga društva, u razvoju njihove sposobnosti djelovanja protiv diskriminacije. Glavni je cilj ovoga istraživanja doznati kako antidiskriminacijske agencije u okviru AFEG-â, koje subvencionira država, tumače svoja iskustva i koje implikacije mogu imati subvencije na orijentaciju i smjer njihova djelovanja? Studija ponajprije sadržava intervjue s antidiskriminacijskim odvjetnicima i rukovoditeljima dviju agencija te, također, s predstavnicima pravobranitelja za ravnopravnost. Najveći izazov agencijama predstavlja smanjenje državnih subvencija, što utječe kako na radne uvjete agencija tako i na druge aktivnosti AFEG-â, poput različitih oblika obrazovanja njihovih članica, podizanja svijesti o antidiskriminacijskim pitanjima među različitim službenicima, u općinama, sindikatima i među poslodavcima. Zbog smanjenja subvencija, akteri civilnoga društva poput AFEG-â bili su prisiljeni prilagoditi se načelima tržišta i postati specijalizirani poduzetnici, u ovome slučaju na području antidiskriminacijskoga prava. Nadalje, u radu se analiziraju učinci takvoga slijeda događaja kao i mogućnosti suradnje sa sindikatima i pravobraniteljem za ravnopravnost. Iako ta partnerstva otkrivaju asimetričnost odnosâ, zaključuje se o mogućnosti strukturnih otvaranja za širu suradnju AFEG-â, sindikata i pravobranitelja za ravnopravnost

Use-Values for Inclusion: Mobilizing Resources in Popular Education for Newly Arrived Refugees in Sweden

In times of market reforms and international migration, the Swedish welfare model has been seriously challenged. In the context of the arrival of refugees in 2015–2017, the state turned to civil society in facing up to the challenges. In this article, we direct our attention to the Workers’ Educational Association’s (ABF) state-funded work with refugees, with a specific focus on the activities conducted, the resources making them possible and the use-value of the resources mobilised. The article is based on observations and interviews with study circle leaders, managers and asylum seekers. The analysis illustrates that ABF, in line with its historical legacy, the broader workers’ movement, the strong notion of popular education as ‘free and voluntary’, has, with its well-established connections throughout the country, not solely taken on the task defined by the state. In solidarity, ABF has also responded to the needs of the refugees. As highlighted in the analysis, ABF has mobilized a wide range of resources, not least providing refugees with social networks and help in contacting the authorities. With such mobilization, opportunities were provided for the inclusion of refugees in Sweden

Negotiating Solidarity : Collective Actions for Precarious Migrant Workers’ Rights in Sweden

Precarious migrant workers are today an everyday part of the Swedish labour market. They often work under conditions of vulnerability, on temporary contracts and with few rights. This dissertation examines collective actions aiming to improve the precarious conditions of three categories of workers –discriminated, seasonal and undocumented. The collective actors examined in the dissertation are composed of formal organisations such as non-governmental organisations, organisations founded on ethnic grounds and trade unions, but also more temporary groups and networks. The analysis foregrounds contemporary societal, economical and legal transfigurations that create the conditions for collaboration among the actors and the negotiations which they conduct. The dissertation contains four articles. The first article, addressing the situation of discriminated migrant workers, scrutinises the conditions for the engagement of anti-discrimination agencies. The result of the study illustrates how the actors, as a consequence of state subsidies, alter their original course of conduct by becoming market orientated,which contributes to tensions in relations with other collaborators. The second and third articles focus on the situation of Bulgarian-Roma berry pickers in the 2012 harvesting season. Thesearticles illuminate on the one hand, the driving forces to their labour migration and the challenges faced in Sweden, and on the other, the emergence of different collective actions and their significance for the workers. The fourth article centres on two trade union initiatives for the inclusion of undocumentedmigrant workers. The article analyses the challenges faced by the unions as they seek to extend solidarity to workers who are relegated to informal work. The article also elucidates that this endeavour,nonetheless, may have the potential to transform the political identity of trade unions and, by extension through collaborations with other collective actors, open the doors of solidarity for precarious EU migrants. In sum, the four articles show that there is a broad range of collective actors who are preparedto assist precarious migrant workers and to negotiate and at best improve their labour market conditions.These actors face many and difficult challenges. However, as the dissertation demonstrates, their engagement has made the reality of precarious migrant work visible to the public, legitimised the workers’ needs and enabled them to claim their rights

”Jag är kluven (…) Jag är uppvuxen så ju.” : En studie av etniska identifikationer och vänskapande bland ”nya andra generationen” invandrare

Benämningen ’den nya andra generation invandrare’ innefattar barn som immigrerat tillsammans med sina föräldrar. Med fokus på denna generation har syftet med denna studie varit att söka efter former för och variationer av erfarenheter, föreställningar och förhållningssätt vid vänskapandet (valet av vänner). Studien behandlar tre utbildningsperioder: grundskolan, gymnasiet och högskolan. Den övergripande frågan är hur etnicitet inverkar på vänskapande. För att besvara denna fråga har empirin inhämtats genom kvalitativa djupintervjuer med sex personer och metodologisk bearbetning byggd på inspiration av Grounded Theory. För att på ett klarare sätt förstå informanternas val av vänner har studien även fokuserats på informanternas etniska identifikationer. Dessa etniskt upplevda skillnader och likheter till andra människor synliggörs med en socialkonstruktionistisk grund. Personerna i studien har i olika avseenden visat på multikulturella bakgrunder befästa genom exempelvis språk och kulturella band till mer än endast en nation. Studien har visat att det finns ett tydligt samband mellan informanternas etniska identifikationer och deras sätt att välja vänner. Samband har visat sig i personernas olika sätt att etniskt identifiera sig i relation till den ålder de hade när de kom till Sverige. Vänskapandet har främst framträtt genom ett etniskt gruppgenererande. Men valen av vänner har även framträtt genom upplevelser av icketillhörande där kategoriseringar kunnat ange vägen till gruppsolidaritet. Etablerandet av grupperna har på så vis kunnat framträda genom ett etniskt tillhörande och icketillhörande som stått i kontrast till en etniskt svensk omgivning. Informanterna har dock över tid visat på ett utvecklande av vänskapsbanden med svenskar. Vidare har informanternas föreställningar om innebörder av ordet invandrare återkommande kunnat fångas i form av negativa konnotationer, men även som en grupptillhörighet eller i form av kategorisering via deras omgivning

”Jag är kluven (…) Jag är uppvuxen så ju.” : En studie av etniska identifikationer och vänskapande bland ”nya andra generationen” invandrare

Benämningen ’den nya andra generation invandrare’ innefattar barn som immigrerat tillsammans med sina föräldrar. Med fokus på denna generation har syftet med denna studie varit att söka efter former för och variationer av erfarenheter, föreställningar och förhållningssätt vid vänskapandet (valet av vänner). Studien behandlar tre utbildningsperioder: grundskolan, gymnasiet och högskolan. Den övergripande frågan är hur etnicitet inverkar på vänskapande. För att besvara denna fråga har empirin inhämtats genom kvalitativa djupintervjuer med sex personer och metodologisk bearbetning byggd på inspiration av Grounded Theory. För att på ett klarare sätt förstå informanternas val av vänner har studien även fokuserats på informanternas etniska identifikationer. Dessa etniskt upplevda skillnader och likheter till andra människor synliggörs med en socialkonstruktionistisk grund. Personerna i studien har i olika avseenden visat på multikulturella bakgrunder befästa genom exempelvis språk och kulturella band till mer än endast en nation. Studien har visat att det finns ett tydligt samband mellan informanternas etniska identifikationer och deras sätt att välja vänner. Samband har visat sig i personernas olika sätt att etniskt identifiera sig i relation till den ålder de hade när de kom till Sverige. Vänskapandet har främst framträtt genom ett etniskt gruppgenererande. Men valen av vänner har även framträtt genom upplevelser av icketillhörande där kategoriseringar kunnat ange vägen till gruppsolidaritet. Etablerandet av grupperna har på så vis kunnat framträda genom ett etniskt tillhörande och icketillhörande som stått i kontrast till en etniskt svensk omgivning. Informanterna har dock över tid visat på ett utvecklande av vänskapsbanden med svenskar. Vidare har informanternas föreställningar om innebörder av ordet invandrare återkommande kunnat fångas i form av negativa konnotationer, men även som en grupptillhörighet eller i form av kategorisering via deras omgivning

Ruptures and acts of citizenship in the Swedish berry-picking industry

The Swedish berry industry relies today on two categories of agricultural seasonal workers: ‘third country nationals’, commonly from South-East Asia, who are granted seasonal work permits for berry picking; and another category designated as ‘free pickers’, mostly EU citizens who sell the harvested berries directly to Swedish berry buyers. With regard to both categories of berry-pickers, successive scandals have plagued the industry. Workers who arrive in Sweden hoping for lucrative employment have ended up with large debts, not able to return home, or have become trapped into ‘forced labour’. This article builds partly on results from our previous research projects on berry pickers in Sweden that centre upon recurrent crises, highlighting the social invisibility of berry-pickers that both enables and adds to their precarity and exploitability. In this paper, our research objective is to study the visibilisation of the pickers' situation of socio-economic precarity and their need for substantive rights. The empirical data comprises interviews and observations collected in 2010–2013, and additional follow-up interviews gathered in 2019–2020. The analytical approach follows theoretical notions of ruptures and acts of citizenship, leading to visibilisation and mobilisation. Key findings identify the occurrence of ruptures contributing to a visibilisation of the berry pickers' plight and to civil society calls for the improvement of their employment rights. Berry-worker protests that make their situation visibile are acts of citizenship which have led to wider mobilisations, but in recent years these have been counteracted, not least, by co-ordinated (local and national) authorities and by landowner responses to such challenges. We argue that these counter-responses can add to invisibilisation, thus becoming pre-emptive bureaucratic actions