The Migration-Development Nexus Revisited: Immigrant Organizations and the Swedish Policy Framework for Development and Humanitarian Assistance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Within the migration-development nexus, cooperation with immigrant organizations is often considered useful by governments and aid agencies. Due to acquaintance with home-country conditions and capacity to transfer remittances, migrants are increasingly viewed as contributors to aid and development. The Swedish government has a similar approach and views migrants and their associations as an asset. At the same time, research on home-country activities among Swedish immigrant organizations (SIOs) is scarce and little is known about their contributions. Based on qualitative and quantitative data on publicly funded SIOs, we explore the alignment between their activities and the Swedish policy goals of humanitarian aid and development cooperation. While few activities align directly, other activities align indirectly since they mainly reflect sectoral targets of the policy goals. We also find few cases of formalized and systematic collaboration with Swedish aid financiers. In comparison with cooperation practices in other European contexts, this suggests deficits in terms of professionalization of SIOs, marginalization in development cooperation and lack of opportunity structures for SIOs. Few SIOs are also engaged in home-country development and humanitarian assistance. A possible explanation is the institutional role that immigrant organizations historically have been granted in the Swedish context. If these deficits are addressed, SIOs could potentially enhance the Swedish approach to aid and development assistance.