Social Work and Migration

Migration has always been a central feature of human history and has shaped the world history at different scales and levels. Throughout history, until the present, migration has commonly been defined either as a problem or a solution to issues of order and (in)stability in global and national contexts. The effects of migration do not only concern the life trajectories of individuals, but they also impinge on politics of nationhood, belonging and identity in a world structured by inequalities, oppression and dominance. Thus, migration poses various challenges as welfare states deal with integration policies and modes of incorporating immigrants into their countries of settlement. Likewise, migration calls into question ideas about belonging: who belongs where and who is entitled to making claims on rights and benefits. In the meantime, in West European contexts, migrant integration is often discussed in terms of "security challenges", "welfare erosion", and incompatible cultural differences. This situation draws our attention to a number of issues related to societal and institutional power, inclusion, exclusion, and integration as well as individual and social empowerment, agency and belonging from the perspective of migrants.

Since social work constitutes an important sector of many West European welfare systems, social workers are often given a frontline position in implementing integration and immigrant policies. As the leading social work scholar Walter Lorenz has insisted, the ways refugees or migrants are dealt with in a particular society "expose the prevailing rationale for the existence of boundaries of belonging, social responsibility and the conditions of citizenship". Relatedly, social workers can be important actors in supporting the citizenship status and rights of migrants and challenge the exclusionary forces of citizenship that migrants face.

Since social workers are at the front line of social policy implementation, it is important to examine and assess their views of migrants, cultural diversity and refugee reception in order to identify how the representatives of the social work profession contribute to inclusion and exclusion in a society marked by diversity. Clearly, their ways of dealing with these issues will affect migrants' experiences of integration and interaction within the Swedish society, their feelings of belonging, security and trust in the Swedish welfare system and society. The research and teaching group Social work and migration at Linnaeus University addresses all these areas of enquiry in their activities.

The research group Social Work and Migration works in collaboration with Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies and participates in the Cluster for Migration, Citizenship, and Belonging. We also collaborate with researchers in Platform Migration, and the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment A Questioned Democracy. 

Our research group also initiated the forming of a national network for researchers in social work in the areas of migration and integration. The network Social work in times of migration - a national research network is funded during the years 2019-2023 by Forte and meets twice a year. The network includes researchers from the University of Gothenburg, University West, Jönköping University, Linköping University, Linnaeus University, Lund University, Mid Sweden University, Malmö University, Stockholm University, Södertörn University, Umeå University, and Örebro University.

Internationally, the research group Social Work and Migration participates in the consortium Migration and Diversity in European Cities (MadeinEurope) within the EUniWell collaboration. Participating migration researchers and teachers come from the universities of Birmingham, Florence, Leiden, Cologne, and from Linnaeus University. The consortium has arranged a joint winter school for doctoral and master students at the participating universities.

Småland som spelplats för världens flyktingmottagande 2016–2018 is a project that we initiated in 2016. We have begun collecting and analysing data about the contemporary reception of refugees. The project is conducted in collaboration between the department of social work, Linnaeus University; the department of cultural studies, Linnaeus University; Kalmar länsmuseum; Smålands kulturpark; the Linnaeus University Centre Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies and the County administrative boards of Kronoberg and Kalmar.