Statsborgerrettslig revisjon og integrasjonspolitisk variasjon i de skandinaviske landene

Abstract

NATIONALITY REFORM AND DIVERGENT CONCEPTIONS OF INTEGRATION IN THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES The Scandinavian countries have a long tradition of cooperation in the field of nationality legislation. In recent years, however, these countries have chosen different paths in the development of nationality law. Today, Sweden has one of the most liberal nationality laws in Europe, while Denmark has the most restrictive. The new Nationality Act of 2005 placed Norwegian regulations on the acquisition of nationality somewhere between Swedish and Danish legislation. In this article, my primary intention is to describe and compare the actual differences in Scandinavian nationality law and the political processes that led to the recent changes. A common feature is the tendency to view nationality legislation in relation to the integration of immigrants. Thus, a discussion of the different conceptions of integration in the Scandinavian countries has to be included. This connection between nationality and integration – between judicial and social belonging – is a recent trend in a European context, and illustrates how reforms of nationality law today may be interpreted as attempts to create social cohesion in multicultural nation states.