Governing and Experiencing Citizenship in Multicultural Scandinavia

• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2021). ‘Birthplace unknown’: on the symbolic value of the passport for identity-construction among naturalised citizens. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. doi: 10.1080/1070289X.2021.1933827. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  When naturalised citizens receive their passport, it is material and symbolic proof of membership in the nation-state, tying the individual to the nation and providing mobility resources. For naturalised Norwegian citizens, their birthplace appears in the passport. What might be the implications of removing this information? In 2016, the Norwegian government replaced birthplace details with ‘birthplace unknown’ in the passports of naturalised citizens from 31 Asian and African countries. Drawing on this case and 41 in-depth interviews with people of different citizenship-statuses, we analyse the role of the passport and birthplace information in it for naturalised citizens’ identity-construction. The procedural change led to an experience of devalued citizenship in practical, emotional, and symbolic ways, by those directly affected and others, showing the precariousness of identity for naturalised citizens. We find that the passport matters for identity-construction, as a symbol of national belonging, and suggests more-than-instrumental approaches to citizenship among immigrant populations.

• Brochmann, Grete & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2020). Philosophies of integration? Elite views on citizenship policies in Scandinavia. Ethnicities. doi: 10.1177/1468796820950453. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research on the ‘civic turn’ in European citizenship policies suggests that concerns over immigrant integration have fueled the restrictive development of citizenship policies in recent decades. However, few efforts have been made to explore the normative ideas underlying this development. Departing from Favell’s (1998) influential concept of ‘philosophies of integration’, this article draws on elite-interviews with top-level bureaucrats, politicians and citizenship experts in the Scandinavian countries and explores how ideas about nationhood and integration have influenced the divergence in citizenship policies in the region, and what overall purpose the policy-changes reflect. We find that, especially in Denmark, the gradual introduction of ever more demanding civic integration requirements appears to be a part of the broader aim of controlling the inflow of migrants and not to enhance the integration of those already present in the country. Conversely, the Swedish liberal approach to citizenship, which regularly has been analyzed as a steppingstone to societal integration, might in reality have been a reflection of benign neglect. In Norway, immigrant integration has clearly been part of the underlying rationale for changes in naturalization requirements, yet the control dimension have played an increasingly important role. These findings suggests that, although the citizenship institution remains important in nation states’ efforts to solve their ‘ethnic dilemmas’, the underlying rationale behind policy-change is more multifaceted than previously understood.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Brochmann, Grete; Erdal, Marta Bivand; Kruse, Mathias; Jensen, Kristian Kriegbaum & Bevelander, Pieter [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2020). Assessments of citizenship criteria: are immigrants more liberal? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 46(13). doi: 10.1080/1369183X.2020.1756762. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The literature on citizenship policies is flourishing, yet we know little of which naturalisation requirements majorities and minorities find reasonable, and how they view existing citizenship regimes. Drawing on original survey data with young adults in Norway (N = 3535), comprising immigrants and descendants with origins from Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, Somalia and Turkey, as well as a nonimmigrant majority group, this article examines whether perceptions of ideal citizenship criteria and assessments of Norway’s current rules differ between groups. In terms of ideal citizenship criteria, we find a striking similarity across groups when looking at six different dimensions of citizenship policy. When merged into an index and estimated in a multivariate regression model, we find that both immigrants and descendants are significantly more liberal than natives are, yet the differences are small. When assessing the semi-strict citizenship regime in Norway, we find that immigrants are significantly more positive towards the current rules than natives. The results lend little support to recent work on ‘strategic’ and ‘instrumental’ citizenship and point instead to a close to universal conception of the terms of membership acquisition in Norway. This suggests that states may operate with moderate integration requirements while maintaining the legitimacy of the citizenship institution.

• Birkvad, Simon Roland (2019). Immigrant meanings of citizenship: mobility, stability, and recognition. Citizenship Studies. doi: 10.1080/13621025.2019.1664402. Full text in Research Archive
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2019). Dual Citizenship in an Era of Securitisation: The Case of Denmark . Nordic Journal of Migration Research. 9(3), p. 293–309. doi: 10.2478/njmr-2019-0014. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article uses the case of Denmark to critically discuss key assumptions in the theoretical literature on dual citizenship. When Denmark surprisingly accepted dual citizenship in 2015, the decision reflected two distinct lines of argument: first, accepting dual citizenship would allow Danes living abroad to keep their Danish citizenship; second, because it is considered illegitimate to make people stateless, allowing dual citizenship would simultaneously allow for citizenship revocation of dual citizens who engage in or support acts of terror. This rationale stands in striking contrast to how dual citizenship has been previously theorised. The gradual acceptance of dual citizenship in Western countries since the early 1990s has been seen either as a symptom of a post-national era or as a pragmatic adjustment to the transnational realities of international migration. By contrast, the case of Denmark shows that dual citizenship may serve as a lever to protect the political community of the nation-state from terrorism and, as such, function as a tool of securitisation.

• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Doeland, Elin Martine & Tellander, Ebba Katarina (2018). How citizenship matters (or not): the citizenship–belonging nexus explored among residents in Oslo, Norway. Citizenship Studies. 22(7), p. 705–724. doi: 10.1080/13621025.2018.1508415.
• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Sagmo, Tove Heggli (2017). Descent, birthplace and residence: Aligning principles of citizenship with realities of migrant transnationalism. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift. 71(4), p. 208–219. doi: 10.1080/00291951.2017.1369456.
• Helgertz, Jonas; Bevelander, Pieter & Laws, Damian (2017). The Influence of Partner Choice and Country of Origin Characteristics on the Naturalization of Immigrants in Sweden: A Longitudinal Analysis. International Migration Review. doi: 10.1111/imre.12244.
• Erdal, Marta Bivand (2016). Juxtaposing Pakistani diaspora policy with migrants’ transnational citizenship practices. Geoforum. 76, p. 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.08.005.

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• Horst, Cindy (2019). Tapping into ‘the New We’: Migrant Civic and Political Participation in Norway. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). 2019(14).
• Erdal, Marta Bivand; Bertelli, Davide; Kruse, Mathias; Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Brochmann, Grete [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2019). Citizenship, Participation and Belonging in Scandinavia: Results from a survey among young adults of diverse origins in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). 2019(7).
• Bertelli, Davide & Laws, Damian (2019). How Do Migrants Participate Politically within Restrictive Contexts? Citizenship, Belonging, and Participation in Italy. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). 2019(15).
• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Talleraas, Cathrine (2015). Becoming One of Us? Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). 2015(11).

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• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2020). Norwegian citizenship gains popularity, but the pandemic slows the application process. Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) Blog. Show summary

  On January 1 2020, Norway followed its Nordic neighbours and allowed for dual citizenship. The law change led to a massive increase in the number of citizenship applications: 30.000 applications were submitted during the first six months of the year. By contrast, the number of applications have remained stable at around 20.000 annually, from 2014 to 2019. Prospective new citizens have to show more patience than ever before, however. When applying for a Norwegian citizenship, applicants have to meet up in person at one of the police immigration offices, among other things to show identity documents. Since the corona pandemic broke out, the police immigration offices and the Service Center for Foreign Workers have been operating a limited service. Additionally, efforts of automatize the application process have increased the waiting time, as do the general massive increase of applications. The Ministry of Education and Research, which is responsible for issues concerning citizenship and integration, expects an additional 60.000 applications in 2021-2022 as a direct response to the acceptance of dual citizenship in Norway. In its budget proposition, the current Government proposes to increase the funding of the police and the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to speed up the application process in the years to come.

• Brochmann, Grete & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2020). Er statsborgerpolitikk et godt redskap for integrasjon? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Show summary

  Regjeringens ferske vedtak om strengere språkkrav for å få norsk statsborgerskap skapte debatt før sommeren. I regjeringens motivasjon heter det at skjerpede krav vil føre til bedre integrering og mindre utenforskap. Professor Cecilie Hamnes og kolleger hevdet derimot i Bergens Tidende at regjeringen mangler belegg (og legitimitet) for denne reformen, og at økte språkkrav vil føre til dårligere integrasjon. I en nylig publisert artikkel hever vi blikket og spør om integrasjon av innvandrere egentlig er et mål for statsborgerlovgivningen overhodet.

• Bevelander, Pieter; Erdal, Marta Bivand; Brochmann, Grete; Bech, Emily Cochran; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Mouritsen, Per (2019). Infödda och invandrade ense om krav för medborgarskap. Dagens nyheter. Show summary

  Skillnaderna är små mellan olika gruppers syn på vilka krav som bör ställas för medborgarskap i skandinaviska länder. Detta trots stora skillnader i politik och debatt mellan länderna. Vår undersökning visar att infödda och invandrare menar att det bör ställas tydliga krav på språkkunskap, samhällsförståelse och deltagande i arbetslivet.

• Brochmann, Grete; Erdal, Marta Bivand & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2019). Statsborger i Skandinavia – hvem bør få innpass? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Show summary

  Hvor høye krav bør det stilles for å få statsborgerskap i Skandinavia? Og er det forskjell i holdninger til dette mellom majoritetsbefolkningen, innvandrere og etterkommere? Den første skandinaviske surveyen som undersøker disse spørsmålene, viser forbausende små forskjeller på tvers av land og grupper til tross for polarisering av både politikk og debatt i regionen.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2019). No longer the ‘last man standing’: Norway decides to allow dual citizenship. Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) Blog. Show summary

  On December 6 2018, the Norwegian Parliament decided to allow dual citizenship, bringing the country back in line with its Nordic neighbors. The decision breaks with the historical tradition of singular citizenship, but was already proposed by the current conservative Government in its political platform in 2017. The fact that it was a conservative government that proposed the amendment of the Nationality law is testament to a changing rationale for the introduction of dual citizenship in the Nordic region, where retainment of citizenship for emigrants and national security issues are key arguments.

• Stokke, Kristian & Erdal, Marta Bivand (2017). Political geographies of citizenship (Introduction to special issue). Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift. doi: 10.1080/00291951.2017.1359207.
• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2017). ‘Birth place unknown’: Citizenship, naturalization and the precariousness of identity. Show summary

  Naturalization is understood as a prerequisite for becoming a full-fledged member of the nation-state. When naturalized citizens receive their passport, it is symbolic proof of membership as an equal citizen in the nation-state; tying the individual emotionally to the collective of the nation; and providing important mobility resources. The birth place is a key dimension of identity, formally to be found on the passport’s identity page. For naturalized citizens birth place and country appear in the passport, as markers of identity and roots. This information may also be seen as an acknowledgement that a birth place abroad is compatible with becoming a citizen, all the while that ‘identity cannot be legislated’ (Joppke 2007). What then might be the implications of removing details on birth place in passports of naturalized citizens? A procedural change in Norway (2016) led to details on birth place being removed in newly issued passports of citizens born in 31 countries, mostly Asian and African. Drawing on this example, we discuss the roles of the passport and place of birth information for naturalized citizens’ identity constructions. Norway’s single-citizenship regime, requiring the renunciation of former citizenship when naturalizing, presents a particular backdrop. We argue that the procedural change rendered many naturalized citizens to a position of B-status citizens, where their citizenship was devalued in practical, emotional and symbolic ways. By demonstrating how a procedural change in legislation can reveal the precariousness of identity for naturalized citizens, we contribute to current theoretical debates on the identity aspect of citizenship.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2017). Dual Citizenship in an Era of Securitization. Show summary

  This paper discusses a trend in Western countries’ citizenship policies toward revoking citizenship of individuals who engage in terrorist acts. This trend has received some attention in the scholarly literature, but one important point has been left unnoticed: Because it is illegitimate to make people stateless, a precondition for citizenship revocation is that dual citizenship is accepted in the first place. This precondition becomes visible in traditional single-citizenship countries, like Denmark. When Denmark allowed dual citizenship in 2015, the decision reflected two distinct lines of argument: First, accepting dual citizenship would allow Danes living abroad to keep their Danish citizenship, and, second, it would justify a change in Danish legislation, allowing for citizenship revocation of dual citizens who engage in or support acts of terror. This rationale stands in stark contrast to how dual citizenship previously has been theorized. The gradual acceptance of dual citizenship in Western countries since the early 1990s has been seen either as a symptom of an emerging post national era or as a pragmatic adjustment to the transnational realities of migration. The case of Denmark shows that acceptance of dual citizenship can reflect a nation state’s will to punish and expel citizens who have engaged in terror, and as such it can be seen as a tool of securitization and state control rather than an act of liberalization.

• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2017). Å frata folk statsborgerskapet går ut over den enkeltes rettssikkerhet. Dagbladet. Show summary

  Statsborgerskapet er den formelle bekreftelsen på båndet mellom stat og borger. Regjeringens nye lovforslag om tap av statsborgerskap ved straffbare forhold og hensyn til grunnleggende nasjonale interesser, er i så måte svært dramatisk. Bakteppet for lovforslaget er ikke mindre dramatisk: Faren for terrorhandlinger og den økende oppmerksomheten om fremmedkrigere er forhold som kan legitimere nytenkning om straffetiltak. Ingen forskning vi kjenner til kan imidlertid dokumentere at innføring av tap av statsborgerskap har en forebyggende effekt på deltakelse i terrorvirksomhet. Lovforslaget legger en slik effekt til grunn, men dette bygger verken på forskning eller forarbeidene i NOU2015:4 Tap av statsborgerskap.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen (2016). Aksept for dobbelt statsborgerskap? Nye begrunnelser og uhellige allianser. Forskning.no. Show summary

  Aksept for dobbelt statsborgerskap har blitt ansett som en politisk anerkjennelse av en genuin transnasjonal erfaring. Hva kan da forklare at Carl I. Hagen, den tidligere lederen av et parti som har hatt sakseierskap på innvandringskritikk og bestandig har stått for et sterkt vern om nasjonale grenser, til å argumentere for at Norge for første gang i historien burde akseptere dobbelt statsborgerskap?

• Erdal, Marta Bivand (2016). Senterpartiets og andre partiers uklare syn på statsborgeren . Vårt land.
• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Sagmo, Tove Heggli (2014). Avleggs statsborgerskapslov. Dagens næringsliv.
• Erdal, Marta Bivand & Sagmo, Tove Heggli (2013). Mindre norsk med to pass . NRK Ytring.

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