Research on migration trajectories in Sweden: an analysis on Turkish migrants

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zühal Ünalp Çepel from Dokuz Eylül University (Türkiye) visited Uppsala University, Center for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (Sweden) to implement her Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) funded by COST Action COREnet.

Acceptance of refugees in Sweden

The European countries have been facing a huge migrant influx since the 2010s. Especially 2015 is regarded as a turning point in the migration policies, and new tools such as readmission agreements, acceptance quotas for refugees were put into practice by the EU countries. Sweden has been a model EU country in accepting the agreed number of refugees. However, the migrant influx has not stopped for several reasons and EU countries do not want to open their borders to every migrant. Sweden has made a major change in its approach to migration, becoming one of the EU countries to pursue a return policy. This STSM aimed to understand the impact of integration and return policies on Turkish migrants in Sweden.

How are the Turkish migrants influenced by the return policy in Sweden? What are the differences in life trajectories between earlier Turkish migrants from the 1960s to the 1990s and new migrants in the 2000s? What are the difficulties experienced by the Turkish migrants regarding the migration and return policies? To find answers to those questions, 9 interviews were held with the Turkish migrant organizations in Sweden during this scientific mission.

Turkish migrants in Sweden

The approximately 150,000 Turkish migrants in Sweden consist of labour migrants who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s, family reunification migrants in the 1980s, refugees fleeing the 1980 coup, economic migrants such as IT workers and doctors, and also the Kurdish refugees in the 2000s. The large numbers of Turkish migrants do not face major difficulties as they have been well integrated into society over the years. The fact that their home is both Sweden and Türkiye can be understood from the answers of the 9 interviewees.

The aim of the research is to understand the different trajectories of the lives of Turkish migrants and the difficulties they have faced, particularly as a result of migration policies. It is found out that there are two main problems that Turkish migrants have experienced recently. The first is the rise of far-right policies on migration and return. In particular, new Turkish migrants face the risk of return, while earlier migrants have no such problem. Second is the increasing number of gangs, of which Turkish youth are also members. The Swedish integration policy of the 2000s has not been able to overcome the illegal activities of gang organizations. 

What is a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) within COREnet?

A Short-Term Scientific Mission, funded by the COST Action COREnet, consists of a visit to a host organization located in a different country to the country of affiliation of a Researcher in order to carry out specific work as part of a research project. In addition to research purposes, Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are aimed to support researchers’ individual mobility, to strengthen existing networks and to foster collaboration between individuals. The purpose of a STSM is thus to gain new partnerships, to learn new techniques and to gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methods not available in their own institutions/organizations.