Values and Organizing Principles in the Swedish Resettlement System: Exploring the Benefits of an Ethnographic Regime Approach

Abstract

Resettlement has received increased political and mediatic attention in recent years as a safe pathway for refugees. It is also seen as a way for receiving states to manage migration while abiding by the UNHCR’s humanitarian ideals. This parallel track of keeping migration at bay and aiming to help the most vulnerable demands further exploration. Here I examine values and principles found in the Swedish resettlement process through an ethnographic regime approach. In previous scholarship such aspects of resettlement have received little attention, and, if considered, been approached with a focus limited to one or two actors of the resettlement system. Discussing the resettlement system as a regime helps explore how values and principles are shaped by a plurality of actors, and – in turn – shape the structures that make up resettlement as a durable solution for refugee emplacement.