Refugee integration policy the Norwegian way – why good ideas fail and bad ideas prevail

Abstract

Integrating non-Western refugees into the highly specialised Scandinavian labour markets has proven difficult. This highly ideological policy field is an interesting case for the study of policy learning versus ideas as drivers for institutional change or continuity. Using the Norwegian Introductory Programme as a case study, we show that the application of core programme measures remains largely unaffected by evaluations that show that such measures tend to have very modest effects on the labour market integration of refugees. Concurrently, incremental changes in the disciplining elements of the programme have resulted in an increasingly controlling activation regime. Our interpretation is that a major driver behind the intensification of disciplinary elements has been the assumption that participants lack the motivation to integrate into the labour market. Moreover, we find that this assumption presents an obstacle to policy learning with regard to programme quality. Within activation, policy ideas seem to function simultaneously as path-reinforcing cognitive locks and as drivers for political change.

Social inclusion of refugees into higher education in Norway: A critical analysis of Norwegian higher education and integration policies

“…WP30, 2016); thus, both education and integration policies are interlinked. These policies are not immune to influences of the powerful politicians (Djuve and Kavli, 2019) who may use discourse during the policy-making process in ways that reproduce inequalities in society. Thus, higher education and integration policy documents need to be critically analysed to unearth the social (in) justice refugees face in relation to higher education in Norway.…”

“…Employment and education are the main focus areas of the Norwegian integration policy (Fangen, 2010; WP30, 2016). Although conversations on refugees participating in the labour market are gaining momentum in the literature (Djuve and Kavli 2019; Friberg and Midtbøen, 2018), little is known about the social inclusion of refugees into higher education in Norway. With this in mind, the present article aims at filling this gap in the literature.…”

Not All Syrian Doctors Become Taxi Drivers: Stagnation and Continuity Among Highly Educated Syrians in Norway

“…The evaluation also highlighted that implementation of the programme tended to vary according to street-level bureaucrats' values and personal attitudes towards it (Djuve et al 2017: 306). Djuve and Kavli (2018) find that assumptions about refugees' motivations and path dependency within the introductory programme have resulted in a structure where good ideas have failed and bad ideas have tended to prevail, suggesting room for improvement in the practices of the integration bureaucracy.…”

Immigrants’ Experiences on Integration While Attempting to Access the Labour Market: Implications for Social Work Practice

“…The Norwegian Introduction Programme for Newly Arrived Immigrants [NIP] is the most important measure for, and is paramount in, Norwegian integration policy (Djuve and Kavli 2019). NIP aims to provide asylum seekers, refugees, unaccompanied minors, and family reunified necessary qualifications to transfer into employment.…”