Refugees and the violence of welfare bureaucracies in Northern Europe

This book underscores the centrality of refugees to the workings of current dynamics of social and cultural membership in the welfare state. The contributions look into the meaning of the welfare state, as represented in legal and discursive practices, and the imagination of those seeking to build new lives in it. Front matter Contents List of figures List of tables List of contributors Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: Governing refugees Social class, economic capital and the Swedish, German and Danish asylum systems Lesson for the future or threat to sovereignty? Contesting the meaning of the 2015 refugee crisis in Sweden Representations of the refugee crisis in Denmark: deterrence policies and refugee strategies Minimum rights policies targeting people seeking protection in Denmark and Sweden PART II: Disciplining refugees Images of crisis and the crisis of images: a visual analysis of four frames of representation of ‘refugeeness’ in Swedish newspapers Media constructions of the refugee crisis in Sweden: institutions and the challenges of refugee governance (De-)legitimation of migration: a critical study of social media discourses PART III: The meaning of refugeeness Living bureaucratisation: young Palestinian men encountering a Swedish introductory programme for refugees Aspiration, appreciation, and frustration: Syrian asylum seekers and bureaucracy in Germany The trauma of waiting: understanding the violence of the benevolent welfare state in Norway Bureaucratised banality: asylum and immobility in Britain, Denmark and Sweden Index This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Refugees have moved into the spotlight of public debate in Europe and North America, where they are targeted by multiple welfare state interventions. This volume analyses the tensions that emerge within the strong welfare states of Northern Europe when faced with an increased immigration of protection-seeking people. Examining the encounter between refugees and the welfare states, this book explores the daily strategies and experiences of newly settled groups and the role of media discourses and welfare policies in shaping those experiences. Building on both textual analyses and ethnographic fieldwork in welfare institutions, asylum centres, and refugee communities, this volume provides an in-depth understanding of the complex realities faced by refugees: deterrence and categorisation, struggle and success, mobility and stagnation. As social phenomena, Northern Europe's asylum systems and integration programmes must be understood in the context of the bureaucratisation of everyday life. Refugees have moved into the spotlight of public debate in Europe and North America, where they are targeted by multiple welfare state interventions. This volume analyses the tensions that emerge within the strong welfare states of Northern Europe when faced with an increased immigration of protection-seeking people. Examining the encounter between refugees and the welfare states, this book explores the daily strategies and experiences of newly settled groups and the role of media discourses and welfare policies in shaping those experiences. Building on both textual analyses and ethnographic fieldwork in welfare institutions, asylum centres, and refugee communities, this volume provides an in-depth understanding of the complex realities faced by refugees: deterrence and categorisation, struggle and success, mobility and stagnation. As social phenomena, Northern Europe's asylum systems and integration programmes must be understood in the context of the bureaucratisation of everyday life. -- Provided by publisher