Integration into Vertical Mosaic: Reflections on the History of Integration Policy, IMER Research and Journalism in Sweden since the 1960s
Integration into Vertical Mosaic: Reflections on the History of Integration Policy, IMER Research and Journalism in Sweden since the 1960s

Summary/Abstract: During the 1960s immigrants were normally called “foreigners” (utlänning) in the Swedish press, and were usually described in a way that would nowadays be considered not only as politically incorrect but also as flagrantly racist and xenophobic. This way of representing immigrants in the Swedish media changed radically at the beginning of 1970s. The word “foreigner” was replaced by “immigrant” in most newspaper articles, and the media started to represent immigrants in a manner that resembles current politically correct media discourse. This paper discusses, first, the reasons for this discursive shift, in the context of the evolution of the Swedish integration and integration policy that was initiated at the end of the 1960s, and, second, the related development of international migration and ethnic relations (IMER) research in Sweden. Finally, the paper presents some reflections on the current state of relations between Swedish integration policy and Swedish IMER research.

• Details
• Contents