“We Never Say We Are Integrating People!” Interpretative Repertoires of Integration Among Local Stakeholders in Sweden
Mona Hemmaty (mona.hemmaty@mau.se),
Jacob Lind (jacob.lind@mau.se),
Christina Hansen (christina.hansen@hv.se) and
Nadeen Khoury (nadeen.khoury@mau.se)
Additional contact information
Mona Hemmaty: Malmö University
Jacob Lind: Malmö University
Christina Hansen: University West
Nadeen Khoury: Malmö University
Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2024, vol. 25, issue 3, No 16, 1403-1421
Abstract:
Abstract This article examines how local stakeholders in Scania, the southernmost county of Sweden, talk about integration. Drawing on 28 qualitative interviews, we use the theoretical concept of interpretative repertoires to analyze perceptions and conceptualizations among those who work closely with migrant integration. We identify two interpretative repertoires that stakeholders draw upon to make sense of the concept on the ground: the separation and de-migranticization repertoires. The repertoires display a shared understanding among the stakeholders of integration as a failure, although they do not agree on the extent or cause of the perceived failures of integration, or even how the problems should be defined or tackled locally. Within the separation repertoire, integration is failing in terms of processes where primarily migrants are seen as accountable and responsible for their (in)ability to adapt to the Swedish society. Within the de-migranticization repertoire, integration is differently perceived as something that is plagued with misdirected or even false boundaries between groups (in this case “migrants” and “non-migrants”), and authorities are held accountable for problems beyond migrants and migration, such as inequality, racism, and discrimination. The findings reflect the contested field of integration on the ground and contribute to ongoing critical debates on the concept of integration within migration research, by providing snapshots from a bottom-up perspective of local stakeholders’ acceptance of, or resistance to, present-day integration discourses.
Keywords: Integration; Interpretative repertoires; Critique of integration; Local stakeholders; Sweden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-024-01127-y
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