Young Somalis’ social identity in Sweden and Britain: The interplay of group dynamics, socio-political environments, and transnational ties in social identification processes

Abstract

In this article, we aim to contribute to the literature on social identification among migrants and minorities by offering a theoretical framework that accounts for the interplay of socio-psychological factors, local and transnational group dynamics, and the socio-political environment in which migrants live. This approach enables us to analyse not only the political significance of identity, but also the psychology of identity formation. Drawing upon qualitative data, we analyse how young Somalis (N = 43) living in the municipalities of Malmö (Sweden) and Ealing (United Kingdom) construct and negotiate their ethnic social identities in relation to: Somali elders living in the same city; Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora; and the British/Swedish majority society. We show that, to secure a positive self-identity vis-à-vis these referent groups, young Somalis engage in psychological strategies of separation; social competition; and social creativity. The socio-political environment in which they are embedded influences which strategy they adopt.

‘I’m Not Swedish Swedish’: Self-Appraised National and Ethnic Identification among Migrant-Descendants in Sweden

“…First-generation Somalian youth in Sweden have been found to report feelings of social exclusion and difficulties in inclusion. Many of these issues were linked to the direct experience of migration; however, similar issues were found in other studies comparing Somalis in the UK and Sweden (Scuzzarello and Carlson 2019). Several studies have reinforced previous findings that hyphenated identities are less actualized in Sweden.…”

“…For example, in Osman et al (2020), participants corrected an earlier version of the article draft where they were referred to as 'Somali-Swedish adolescents', affirming that they would rather be referred to as 'Somali' despite living in Sweden. Other previous research has highlighted that for individuals with Somali backgrounds in Sweden, identification becomes binary; one is a Somali in Sweden and a Swede in Somalia (Scuzzarello and Carlson 2019). This is common finding within studies of ethnic identity (see Verkuyten 2018 for a review).…”

Discrimination and its relation to psychosocial well‐being among diverse youth in Sweden

“…Especially so in a context like Sweden, where racial and ethnic groups are not clearly defined, and where there is no direct language for group identifications (Svensson & Syed, 2019). Apart from the word race not being used in the Swedish vocabulary, there is also largely a lack of accepted hyphenated identities (e.g., Asian‐American), which may increase the feelings of marginalization and otherness (Scuzzarello & Carlson, 2018; Svensson & Syed, 2019). Moreover, there has been a visible increase in the normalization of prejudice and racism throughout the country (Hellström & Nilsson, 2010; Iakimova, 2018; Schierup, Ålund, & Neergaard, 2018).…”

“…A major protective factor against the negative consequences associated with discrimination is a sense of ethnic belonging (e.g., Pascoe & Richman, 2009; Rivas‐Drake et al., 2014). However, recent research has suggested that many young people in Sweden have difficulties in developing a positive sense of ethnic group identification (Gyberg et al., 2018; Scuzzarello & Carlson, 2018; Svensson, Berne, & Syed, 2018), due to a dichotomous division of “Swede” versus “ immigrant” (Almqvist, 2006; Gyberg et al., 2018; Johansson & Olofsson, 2011; Scuzzarello & Carlson, 2018; Svensson et al., 2018). Group identification can be understood in both objective and subjective terms (Syed, Juang, & Svensson, 2018), where objective measures are researcher driven assignments (i.e., immigrant background) while subjective measures allow people to define their own in‐groups (i.e., self‐defined ethnicity).…”

The contribution of Somali diaspora in Denmark to Peacebuilding in Somalia through Multi-Track Diplomacy

“…Danish Somalis show characteristics similar to those in the rest of Scandinavia (Horst, 2018;Scuzzarello & Carlson, 2019) which differ, in turn, from diasporas in Anglosaxon countries (Abdulle, 2018;Chambers, 2017;Liberatore, 2018). One of them is their higher level of acculturation.…”