When the world goes rural – Are international migration flows changing the Swedish countryside?

This project discusses the potential gains that the countryside might obtain from transnational processes. International migrants carry with them transnational networks, which tie places of in- and out-migration together and create ‘transnational social spaces’. Transnational networks can be influential both for the regions they intersect with and for the migrants themselves. Regarding sparsely populated regions, international migration has potential to act stimulating in (at least) two ways: Demographically, they might contribute to population growth and a younger population structure. Moreover, migrants’ transnational networks might bring qualitative aspects to the countryside. Transnational networks literally connect the countryside to the world, which could serve as a vital ‘injection’ for development to rural areas. Moreover, transnational projects might stimulate the migrants themselves and contribute to successful inclusion in the host society. Within this framework, we analyse the inclusion of international migrants in rural labour markets from a transnational perspective:

  1. The potential of international migrants and transnational networks for Swedish international firms
  2. The role of international migrants’ inclusion in the labour market for internal migration

Researchers

Stockholm University: Gunnel Forsberg (PI), Natasha Webster, Charlotta Hedberg and Karen Haandrikman

Uppsala University: Susanna Stenbacka and Ali Najib

Peer-reviewed articles

  • Søholt, Susanne, Susanne Stenbacka and Helle Nørgaard, Conditioned receptiveness: Nordic rural elite perceptions of immigrant contributions to local resilience. Journal of Rural Studies (in press). doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.05.004.
  • Webster, Natasha and Karen Haandrikman (2017) Thai women entrepreneurs in Sweden: Critical perspectives on migrant small businesses. Women's Studies International Forum 60: 17-27. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2016.11.001.
  • Webster, Natasha A. (2017) Rural-to-rural translocal practices: Thai women entrepreneurs in the Swedish countryside. Journal of Rural Studies 56, 219-228. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.09.016.
  • Webster, Natasha and Karen Haandrikman (2016) Thai women in Sweden: Victims or participants? Social Sciences Asia 2(1), 13–29.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta (2016) 'Doing gender' in the wild berry industry: Transforming the role of Thai women in rural Sweden 1980–2012. The European Journal of Women's Studies 23(2), 169-184.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta and Karen Haandrikman (2014) Repopulation of the Swedish countryside: Globalisation by international migration. Journal of Rural Studies 34: 128-138.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta and Andrea Fuentes Monti (2013) Translokal landsbygd. När bärplockarna kommer till Byn. Geografiska Notiser 71(1), 13-23.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta (2013) 'Grapes of wrath'? Power spatialities and aspects of labour in the wild berry global commodity chain. Competition and Change 17(1), 57-74

Books

  • Webster, Natasha (2016) Gender and Social Practices in Migration. A case study of Thai women in rural Sweden. PhD dissertation. Stockholm: Stockholm University.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta and Renato Miguel do Carmo (eds.) (2012) Translocal Ruralism. Mobility and Connectivity in European Rural Spaces. Dordrecht: Springer.

Book chapters

  • Stenbacka, Susanne (2018) A breeding ground for cosmopolitanism and hospitality?
    Refugee migration into rural areas in Sweden. In: Stefan Kordel, Tobias Weidinger and Igor Jelen, Processes of Immigration in Rural Europe: The Status Quo, Implications and Development Strategies. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge, pp. 25-45.
  • Forsberg, Gunnel and Susanne Stenbacka (2016) New ruralities: The influence of international migration on Swedish rural areas. In: Hans Westlund, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Kakuya Matsushima and Sachiko Ohno, Social Capital and Development Trends in Rural Areas, Volume 11. Kyoto: MARG, pp. 35-46.
  • Stenbacka, Susanne (2016) 'Man hittar oss inte hemma på sommaren.' In: Roger Andersson and Gunnar Myrberg (eds.), Mångfaldens Dilemman. Boendesegregation och områdespolitik. Gleerups, pp. 75-94.
  • Mathisen, Tina and Susanne Stenbacka (2015) Unge migranter skaper steder: Translokale og lokale praksiser i rurale områder i Norge og Sverige. In: Marit Aure, Nina Gunnerud Berg, Jorn Cruickshank and Britt Dale (eds.), Med Sans for Sted: Nyere Teorier. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget, pp. 213-229.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta (2014) Restructuring global labour markets: Recruitment agencies and work relations in the wild berry global commodity chain. In: Alessandro Bonanno and Josefa Salete Barbosa Cavalcanti (eds.), Labor Relations in Global Agri-Food, Emerald Publishing.
  • Stenbacka, Susanne (2013) International migration and resilience: Rural introductory spaces and refugee immigration as a resource. In: Christine Tamasy and Javier Revilla Diez (eds.), Regional Resilience, Economy and Society. Globalising rural places. London: Routledge, pp. 75-94.
  • Najib, Ali B. (2013) Immigrant small enterprises in rural Sweden: Local and transnational resource mobilisation. In Christine Tamasy and Javier Revilla Diez (eds.), Regional Resilience, Economy and Society. Globalizing rural places. London: Routledge, pp. 131-148.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta and Renato M. do Carmo (2012) Translocal ruralism: Mobility and connectivity in European rural spaces. In: Charlotta Hedberg and Renato M. do Carmo (eds.), Translocal Ruralism: Mobility and connectivity in European rural spaces. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 1-12.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta, Gunnel Forsberg and Ali Najib (2012) When the World goes Rural: Transnational potentials of international migration in rural Swedish labour markets. In: Charlotta Hedberg and Renato M. do Carmo (eds.) Translocal Ruralism. Mobility and connectivity in European rural spaces. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 125-142.
  • Stenbacka, Susanne (2012) The rural intervening in the lives of internal and international migrants. In: Charlotta Hedberg and Renato M. do Carmo (eds.), Translocal Ruralism: Mobility and connectivity in European rural spaces. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 55-72.
  • Stenbacka, Susanne (2011) Unga migranter på landsbygden: Om transnationella liv i lokala sammanhang. In: Peter Möller and Helena Kåks (eds.), Vem Bygger Landet? Om unga och vuxna i den regionala utvecklingen. Gidlunds, pp. 80-94.

Popular scientific publications:

Working papers

  • Webster, Natasha and Karen Haandrikman (2014) Thai women in Sweden: Victims or participants? Stockholm Research Reports in Demography 2014:9.
  • Hedberg, Charlotta (2010) ‘Every soul is needed!’ Processes of immigration and demographic consequences for Swedish rural areas. Stockholm Research Reports in Demography 2010:16. Dept of Sociology, Demography Unit, Stockholm University.

Book review

  • Webster, Natasha (2014) Book Review of Tobias Hubinette, Helena Hörnfeldt, Fataneh Farahani and René León Rosales (eds.) (2012), Om Ras och Vithet i Samtida Sverige. Botkyrka: Mångkulturellt Centrum. Nordic Journal of Migration Research 4(1), 49.

Newsletter (in Swedish)

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