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The aim of the article is to analyze how social workers frame the social problems of immigrant clients in Sweden. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 20 social workers in three different Swedish municipalities. While Swedish social work often assumes a discourse of color-blindness and universalism, this study indicates that Swedish social workers not only see cultural differences but also regard these differences as central when they frame, assess, and formulate their interventions. The discourse of culturalization not only produces and reinforces the ideas of cultural hierarchy and Swedish superiority, but it also tends to obstruct non-European immigrants from equal participation in the Swedish society since they are not allowed to enjoy their full citizenship. Consequently, there is a need for social work in Sweden to rethink its culturalist framework and go beyond cultural reductionism and take into consideration other issues such as unemployment, housing conditions, poverty, social isolation, marginalization, and ethnic discrimination.

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The purpose of this article is to examine the experiences of two generations among the Kurdish diaspora in Sweden: those who migrated as adults and those who were born and/or raised in Sweden. The focus will be on issues of identity, home(land) and politics of belonging with regard to generational and temporal aspects. We will argue that there are significant differences among the older and younger generations with regard to their experiences that demand different theoretical and analytical conceptualisations.