Conditions of grassroot and street level engagement following the 2015 ”refugee situation”

• In this paper, we draw on discussions from a panel talk of migration experts about the new restrictive turn in Swedish migration policy following the ”refugee situation” in 2015, and a forthcoming review of the international literature about guardianship for unaccompanied minors.The results from the panel provided insights about how discourses of securitzation translate into practice and the potential to move beyond this pattern. There seem to be several different strategies assumed by grassroot activists to counter this tendency, but this issue also seem to concern professionals and other staff engaged with asylum seekers and refugees. It appears that the latter group can retain a (legal) space to resist repressive activities that challenge their professional ethics and personal integrity, and still working ”within” the welfare system.Linking this the issue of grassroot activism and street-level work to the guardianship for unaccompanied children seeking asylum, which in the Swedish case involves layman guardians appointed locally, we explore the increased temporality influencing the conditions for individuals representing children with an ”unclear” legal status in relation to the the dual (care and restrictive) ”nature” of welfare state actors (e.g. Social Services, Chief Guardian Board, Migration Agency).

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Internationell migration och etniska relationer (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- International Migration and Ethnic Relations (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Migration policy

refugees

asylum seekers

Sweden

professional ethics

activism

Sociology

sociologi

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vet (ämneskategori)

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