Marko Valenta

Attitudes towards Muslim Immigrants: Evidence from Survey Experiments across Four Countries

There has been much negative focus on Muslims in public debates in the West and it is a matter of great interest to examine whether Muslims are particularly exposed to prejudice and hostility. Since it is known that immigrants tend to be exposed to prejudice, and practically all Muslims living in Western countries are either immigrants or are of immigrant origin, it is useful to analyse whether Muslims are viewed more negatively than immigrants in general. Using data from survey experiments conducted in Norway, Sweden, the USA and the United Kingdom in 2009, we find that Muslim immigrants were not more negatively viewed than immigrants in general. In the two countries that have experienced large-scale attacks by Islamic extremists, the USA and the United Kingdom, the expressed levels of anti-Muslim attitudes were actually lower than the levels of general anti-immigrant attitudes. We find that individual traits that influence general xenophobia also influence anti-Muslim attitudes.

State-assisted integration, but not for all: Norwegian welfare services and labour migration from the new EU member states

In the last decade, the labour migrant population, especially from East European countries, has significantly increased in Scandinavia. Among the Scandinavian countries, Norway stands as the largest recipient of labour migrants from new European Union (EU) countries. This article focuses on the reception conditions for labour migrants from new EU member states during the period 2004—2009. The article also explores, contextualizes and relates the perspectives of the service providers to the Nordic welfare system, including, for example, eliciting their views on whether and why they think there is a need for a recalibration of existing practice and policies.

Who Wants to Be a Travelling Teacher? Bilingual Teachers and Weak Forms of Bilingual Education: The Norwegian Experience.

In this article, I argue that immigrant bilingual teachers and mother‐tongue teachers are not formally recognised as ‘genuine’ teachers in the Norwegian school system. Norwegian education authorities have invested considerable effort in order to strengthen the competences of bilingual teachers and to both recognise and formalise their home country education. Amongst other things, several university colleges were encouraged to provide specially designed higher education programmes for bilingual teachers in order to integrate teachers with bilingual competences into the Norwegian primary school teaching system. This paper is based on data collected in 2007–2008 during the national evaluation of this education, which is the first of its kind in Norway. Although popular amongst immigrant students, it seems that the competences to be gained by graduates of the BA degree programme are not recognised or utilised in the schools where they work. Due to low social status and an unfavourable structural position within the Norwegian school education sector, these teachers will try to distance themselves from their bilingual roles and identities. Within such a framework, the higher education that is intended to strengthen optimum bilingual tuition in the primary schools sector is, in fact, steering bilingual teachers and mother‐tongue teachers away from these more specialised and less valued professions, seeking instead, access into the more mainstream and higher status teaching jobs.

A comparative analysis of migration systems and migration policies in the European Union and in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Migration systems in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf and Europe are among the largest migration systems in the world and some of the countries in these two systems have emerged as the largest senders and receivers of international migrants. This overview article identifies the major elements of the two systems, and discusses and compares migration trends and policy fields in the systems. It is maintained that the core of the European migration system is the developed wealthy parts of the European Union (EU) while the core of the migration system in the Gulf is the oil-rich monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Different historical, economic, political and demographic factors have had an effect on the migration trends. Compared with Europe, the migrations in the Gulf have grown faster and resulted in considerably larger proportions of migrants. Another difference emerges when we compare patterns and scale of internal and external migrations in the two systems. The economic forces are major drivers of labour migrations in the both regions. Yet, stark differences drastically separate the migration realities of the two regions, which partly stem from the decisive difference that separates autocracies in the GCC from European liberal democracies. The GCC countries allow larger immigration of temporary labour migrants, but have clearly less developed and more restrictive practice regarding offering permanent status and citizenship to migrants than the EU’s member states. They are also clearly more restrictive regarding refugee/asylum seeker policies, even to refugees from neighbouring Arab countries.

The dramaturgical nexus of ethno-religious, tourist and transnational frames of pilgrimages in post-conflict societies: The Bosnian and Herzegovinian experience

This article focuses on two Catholic pilgrimages in Bosnia–Herzegovina in order to analyse the similarities and differences between them with regard to forms of religious tourism and variety of interpretations of pilgrimages. Based on ethnographic data gathered in Bosnia–Herzegovina, the discussion focuses on micro-level processes and their structural frames. Regarding the frame analysis, the article provides an analysis of the tourist, transnational and ethno-religious frames that have shaped and still affect these two pilgrimages, including how they are experienced and interpreted by local pilgrims and the local population within a context of a post-conflict society. The main focus is on pilgrims’ responses to various frames, forms of guiding and definitions of situations which they encounter during their journeys. It is maintained that pilgrims’ responses reveal different interpretations of the frames, which are combined with dynamic impression management and identity switching between roles as pilgrims, guides, tourists and (trans)nationals.

Wearing the veil: hijab, Islam and job qualifications as determinants of social attitudes towards immigrant women in Norway

ABSTRACT Immigrant women are a particularly vulnerable part of the immigrant population. In this paper we analyse negative attitudes towards immigrant women in Norway. We focus on immigrant women’s formal job qualifications, their religious background and wearing of hijab – the headscarf sometimes used by Muslim women. Using survey-embedded experiments we are able to analyse the net effects on attitudes of job qualifications, Islamic religious background and the hijab. The results show that native population frequently has more negative views of Muslim women who wear a hijab. The negative effects of a hijab do not seem to be strongly reduced if a woman wearing it has higher education. With a single exception, the results also show that Muslim background in itself (i.e. without the hijab) does not have any strong effect on attitudes of the native population towards immigrant women.

The Nexus of Asylum Seeker Migrations and Asylum Policy: Longitudinal Analysis of Migration Trends in Norway

There has been much focus on the increased influx of asylum seekers in Norway and in Europe in general. This article investigates links between the influx of asylum seekers and developments in asylum policies in Norway. In focus are the immigration trends of the four largest groups of asylum seekers in Norway in the period 2006–2012. It is assumed that developments in the arrival of asylum seekers are to a large extent influenced by the ways in which the four groups were treated by migration authorities in Norway. This analysis is based on policy survey and available statistics. The longitudinal analysis indicates that changes in rejection, approval and deportation rates correspond to a large extent with subsequent fluctuations in annual arrivals of asylum seekers. It is also maintained that the restrictions in social rights result in deteriorating living conditions, but as a tool of migration control such restrictions do not work in accordance with the intention. The findings are of clear relevance for on-going discussions on asylum seeker mobility and discussions on minimum standards for reception of asylum seekers.

‘Do you want this?’ Exploring newcomer migrant girls’ peer reception in Norwegian day care: Experiences with social exclusion through the exchange of self-made artefacts:

This article approaches newcomer migrant girls’ experiences with social competition and relational aggression. This the authors do through a detailed analysis of the interactional practices that a group of preschool-aged girls make use of as they socially exclude one of two newcomer migrant girls from participating in a sharing activity involving self-made artefacts. The data is drawn from ethnography combined with video recordings of natural and situated activities of the girls’ interactions in a Norwegian day-care institution over the course of nine months. Combining structural and social-constructivist perspectives, the authors discuss how a day-care group is a social field comprising multiple subfields characterized by agents struggling over position and power. Overall, this article addresses another side of the generally accepted positive view of day care for migrant children, revealing how relational aggression might be embedded within seemingly harmless activities and set in everyday child-governed activities. Finally, the authors reflect on implications for pedagogical practices and make suggestions for future research.

Restrictions on Right to Work for Asylum Seekers: The Case of the Scandinavian Countries, Great Britain and the Netherlands

This article provides an overview of recent developments in restrictions regarding asylum seekers’ right to work in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands. It is acknowledged that a distinction should be made between policies which regulate the right to work for i) asylum seekers with a pending application and ii) asylum seekers with a final refusal on their application. In the article, contemporary policies as well as recent changes in regulations in the five countries are described in detail and compared. Furthermore, the article discusses potential consequences of these policies. A review of relevant public documents, research and basic statistics are used in an attempt to answer the question whether the relative strictness of policies regarding right to work can be linked to the influx and return of asylum seekers in the surveyed countries. It is argued that access to work has little, if any, effect on variations in this respect. At the same time, it is maintained that reduced access to work has unintended consequences, inter alia, contributing to a further marginalisation of asylum seekers in both the application and return phase.

Insider position and social identities of service providers with immigrant backgrounds in accommodation for asylum seekers

This article focuses on the social identities of service providers with immigrant backgrounds in Norwegian reception centres for asylum seekers. Migrant service providers who work with migrant clients are often perceived as ‘insiders’ who understand explicit cultural expectations in intra-group interactions with clients. We explore how the insider position of service providers with immigrant backgrounds in accommodation for asylum seekers is experienced, negotiated and constructed in interaction with asylum seekers and Norwegian colleagues. On the one hand, our findings indicate that service providers with immigrant and refugee background, who are very often themselves ex-residents of reception centres, are seen as an asset for the working environment. On the other hand, the professionalism and loyalty of these workers is often questioned, both by the staff and residents. Migrant workers also risk being accused of ethnic favouritism while they try to provide more emphatic and more culturally and linguistically-adjusted service provision. The article is based on interviews with asylum seekers and service providers of immigrant and non-immigrant background.