WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH INTEGRATION? - A policy analysis of Swedish policy proposals

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to study how the idea of integration has been formulated in Swedish policy proposals over time and what similarities and differences can be found in policy proposals spanning over more than a decade, starting in 2009 till 2022. By using a Poststructuralist theory that emphasizes truth as something contextual subjective and applying the WPR-approach which studies underlying ideas through problem representation. The result shows that integration in Swedish policy proposals is perceived to be tightly bound to the labour market, where the labour market acts as a key to integration. Furthermore, integration is formulated as a normative linear process, in which the newly arrived immigrant is expected to move towards integrating into a steadfast Swedish society. Integration is also presented both as a goal and as a process, wherein the government can provide sufficient circumstances that the newly arrived immigrants must use to integrate. Differences found in the study show that during the first part of the last decade the problem with integration was perceived to be a newly arrived lack of effort in integrating, whilst the latter half focused on systemic shortcomings which hindered integration efforts.