Migration from Turkey to Sweden : integration, belonging and transnational community

The ‘refugee crisis’ and the recent rise of anti-immigration parties across Europe has prompted widespread debates about migration, integration and security on the continent. But the perspectives and experiences of immigrants in northern and western Europe have equal political significance for contemporary European societies. While Turkish migration to Europe has been a vital area of research, little scholarly attention has been paid to Turkish migration to specifically Sweden, which has a mix of religious and ethnic groups from Turkey and where now well over 100,000 Swedes have Turkish origins. This book examines immigration from Turkey to Sweden from its beginnings in the mid-1960s, when the recruitment of workers was needed to satisfy the expanding industrial economy. It traces the impact of Sweden’s economic downturn, and the effects of the 1971 Turkish military intervention and the 1980 military coup, after which asylum seekers - mostly Assyrian Christians and Kurds - sought refuge in Sweden. Contributors explore how the patterns of labour migration and interactions with Swedish society impacted the social and political attitudes of these different communities, their sense of belonging, and diasporic activism. The book also investigates issues of integration, return migration, transnational ties, external voting and citizenship rights. Through the detailed analysis of migration to Sweden and emigration from Turkey, this book sheds new light on the situation of migrants in Europe.1. The 50th Anniversary of the Beginning of Migration from Turkey to Sweden : Lessons Concerning Integration, Cohesion, and Inclusion, Paul Levin & Bahar Baser 2. Reflections on the issue of integration, Charles Westin 3. Nicknames in diaspora: Tracing migrant tales of first-generation Turkish migrants in Sweden, Oncel Naldemirci 4. The Turkish generation born in Sweden: Bridge-builders or new Swedes? Vera Constanza Larrucea 5. Turkish maintanence and bilingualism among second-generation Turks in multicultural Stockholm, Memet Akturk Drake 6. Turkish media space in Sweden: Case of Turkish broadcasts in Swedish Public Service Radio, Altug Akin 7. Organising of Turkish migrants in metropolitan Stockholm: From national federation to women, youth and other associations, Yasemin Akis and Mahir Kalaylioglu 8. The transnational activism of the Kurdish Diaspora and the Swedish approach to the Kurdish Question, Bahar Baser, Idris Ahmedi & Mari Toivanen 9. In search of a new home: The Assyrian Diaspora in Sweden, Aryo Makk