Governing migrants through the Norwegian Introduction Programme

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the Norwegian Introduction Programme for newly arrived immigrants and refugees. With its implementation in 2004, the Introduction Programme represents one of the most significant policy measures initiated by the state for new migrants in Norway. The Introduction Programme combine two important official goals, namely labour market participation and immigrant integration into the receiving society. The aim of the overall thesis is to examine how the Introduction Programme in Norway can be understood in relation to different power perspectives. One of the main perspectives is Foucault’s idea of governmentality, supplemented with the perspectives of neoliberalism and ethnification. Inspired by Carol Lee Bacchi’s social policy analysis approach, one of the main points of departure of the thesis, is to examine what problem formulation the Introduction Programme is an answer to. The study focuses primarily on how the Norwegian Introduction Programme is justified, designed, structured and framed to facilitate the integration of new migrants in society in general, and in the labour market specifically. The thesis is based on four studies which have all critically examined the Introduction Programme from different comparative and theoretical perspectives. Comparisons are made between different social policy measures in Norway and between seemingly ‘similar’ policies in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The method employed for all four articles is based on public document analysis, which falls within the broader categorization of qualitative text analysis. The main aim of Study I is to provide an in-depth understanding of the underlying ideology of two Norwegian post-immigration measures; the Introduction Programme and the financial support scheme for voluntary immigrant organisations. Study II addresses the justifications for implementing the Introduction Programme for newly arrived immigrants and refugees in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The aim of Study III is to explore how policy texts and the policy development process when establishing the Introduction Programme and the Qualification Programme have differently constructed the identity of their target groups. Study IV sets out to critically examine if and eventually how different ideas of empowerment are embedded in the design and structure of the introduction programmes in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. In sum, it is possible to conclude that the Norwegian Introduction Programme can be viewed as an arena in which the subjectivity of new migrants is being shaped to influence their actions and beliefs in specific ways. By participating in the programme, the target group is being governed, disciplined and shaped into becoming idealized citizens, and for the state, an ideal citizen is one who is employed, active in terms of being economically and culturally assimilated. Moreover, the ideal citizen is expected to be active, self-governing and self-sufficient. In addition, the thesis also demonstrates that ethnification of the target group has implications for how the Introduction Programme has been designed and shaped.