Migration, segregation och pauperisering i det svenska samhällets periferi

Abstract

The article is based on a survey of segregation in three Swedish rural municipalities (Bollnäs, Nordanstig and Söderhamn). Statistics show nationally large gaps between foreign-born and domestic-born in terms of the level of employment, living conditions and level of education. The gap also reflects significant differences between rich and relatively poor neighborhoods or areas. In interviews, a segregation emerges that is not visible in the statistics, for example, the experience that society has been marginalized and torn apart, and differences between young people who have a middle-class background and working-class background in relation to an urban norm to move from the municipalities. On the whole, a number of themes are raised where segregation is associated with ethnic groups, poorer areas and cultural problems. An analysis of how society’s globalization has changed the relationship between social classes, the distribution of resources and capital, and created ”winning” and ”losing” regions, makes it clear that segregation is above all a matter of relative wealth and poverty. In the municipalities, the addition of migrants becomes a pauperization, as migrants usually lack the economic, social and cultural capital that is valued in society, while the region is weakened due to emigration and relatively high welfare costs. The article therefore suggests that segregation should be counteracted by new types of solutions, aimed at the root causes, and at building resilient communities. It would also give the research on segregation and integration a new task, where the starting point is a criticism of ongoing attempts to ethnicise and culturalize economic and geographical inequalities.