If work is out of sight. Activation and citizenship for new refugees

Abstract

Activation has become an important paradigm for social policies in Europe. New migrants and refugees especially constitute a category with particular problems in accessing the labour market, and have thus become a prime target group for activation in some countries. The article addresses the tension between aims of employment and economic self-sufficiency, and social inclusion and participation in a wider sense. Using data from the implementation of the Norwegian introductory programme for newly arrived refugees, we analyse local caseworkers' attempts at negotiating this tension when working with clients whose labour market prospects are conceived of as poor. Two distinct frameworks of interpretation, with distinct consequences for practical implementation, are identified: an activation discourse where the main emphasis is on labour market inclusion; and a citizenship discourse which broadens the goals to include other forms of social participation.

Multiple streams in member state implementation: politics, problem construction and policy paths in Swiss asylum policy

“…Whether member states choose to restrict asylum seekers' access to the labour market very much depends on constellations entailing unfavourable political constellations and attitudes (Steinacker, 2006). Here, the social construction of the target group "asylum seekers" as undeserving, in combination with the absence of a strong left defending the welfare state, plays a pivotal role (Hagelund and Kavli, 2009;Schneider and Ingram, 1993).…”

Innvandrarborgaren

“…Innvandrarane vart i for stor grad gjort til sosialklientar som ikkje var integrert i samfunnet. Det var dette den nye aktiviseringsorienterte politikken skulle gjera noko med, og obligatorisk medborgaropplaering vart innført som lekk i denne (Djuve, 2011;Hagelund & Kavli, 2009).…”

“…Bakgrunnen for den nye lova og programmet, i Noreg som elles i Europa, var ei vurdering av at integrasjonen ikkje fungerte godt nok, om enn dette varierer mellom land. Deltakinga i arbeidslivet er jamt over lågare for desse gruppene (Hagelund & Kavli, 2009;Joppke, 2007). Den politiske mobiliseringa av innvandrarane er også svak (Andersson, Jacobsen, Rogstad & Vestel, 2012;Bjørklund & Bergh, 2013;Loga, 2012;Loga, 2013;Takle, 2015;Takle, 2014).…”

All That is Just Ersatz: The Meaning of Work in the Life of Immigrant Newcomers

“…Willing to work but unable to make their way into salaried positions, immigrants continue to be pushed into nonstandard work schemes (part‐time and temporary work, self‐employment, civil labor, and volunteering). Widely propagated and implemented as a strategy for the creation of work and for the activation and social integration of the unemployed in many Western European countries, including Germany (see Delsen ; Jancius ; Regalia ), the alternative‐to‐work schemes or projects remain questionable, in terms of efficacy (see Hagelund and Kavli ; Ronsen ; Thoren ). Even the cases that seem to demonstrate positive developments and successes (e.g., the Dutch and Danish cases) beg the following questions: Do such projects in the long run lead to what are considered normal positions in the labor market, or are people, in fact, left in the position of being occupied “by activities parallel to the ‘real’ labour markets, and as stigmatized as previously?” (Van Oorschot and Abrahamson :202).…”