Numbers as "empty signifier" in Swedish migration policy

• Beginning in 2016, Sweden instituted a sweeping reform of its migration policies, severely limiting the rights given to migrants who had arrived seeking asylum. This policy change was clearly motivated by a desire to reduce the number of migrants arriving, yet by the time the law was passed, migrant numbers had already dropped dramatically. Even as this policy was widely criticized from many sectors in society and had negligible impact on the number of migrant arrivals, the law was renewed in 2019 and made permanent in 2021. What this has produced is a situation in which nuanced discussion of migration policy becomes impossible, as all negative impacts are justified by the focus on migrant numbers, even when the impacts on numbers in minimal. This study draws on an extensive review of governmental proposals, parliamentary debates, and written comments from government agencies and NGOs as part of Sweden’s remiss system from the laws in 2016, 2019, and 2021. Through this, the paper explores the social construction of migrant numbers, the politics of numbering, and the production of strategic ignorance in the context of migration policy processes.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Globaliseringsstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Globalisation Studies (hsv//eng)

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

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

Keyword

Migration policy

numbers

empty signifier

Sweden

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)