Challenging Power
Subprojects
Camilla Nordberg (Dr. Soc. Sc. in Social Policy/University lecturer in Social Work (on leave)/Researcher CEREN): Cultural Citizenship and the Case of Finnish Roma – Introducing Power and Agency to the Multiculturalism Debate
Research objectives: The research takes a focus on cultural dimensions of citizenship and particularly on the ways in which power and agency are interlinked with (multi)cultural citizenship in a welfare state context.
Research questions: How are the national culture and various other forms of subtle power influencing the claims-making practices of Romani representatives in the public sphere? How are such participatory constraining elements linked to a theoretical discussion on the notion of cultural citizenship?
Sanna Saksela (Ph.D. Student / Researcher CEREN): Ethnic minorities vis-à-vis national advisory boards: Finland, Norway and the UK compared
The objective: to explore how overt and covert forms of power is used in channeling immigrants opportunities to participate in the receiving society.
The research setting: national advisory boards, representatives of immigrant groups and their associations in Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
The core questions: 1) How is power used when it comes to establishing a dialogue between ethnic minority groups and officials? 2) Is there a risk for unequal inclusion of ethnic minorities due to their cultural and / or religious background?
The theoretical framework: neo-institutional approach + analysis of power (two- and three dimensional view of power by Lukes).
The data: documentation, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with policy-makers and immigrants.
Reetta Toivanen (Ph.D. in social anthropology / Researcher CEREN): Power of participation and of non-participation: strategies to cope with a minoritized status
The objective: The study explores the 'external' or 'imported' identity strategies of empowerment of marginalised groups in the Finnish context.
Central questions: How Finnish authorities on the one side and local minority activists on the other side capture and exploit European influences and understanding of what empowerment and integration means / should mean? What does this mean for the in-group relations and for the integration into Finnish society?
The study consists of three levels: Assessment of the possibilities of ethnic and national minorities' to exercise power both within formal and informal institutions. Analysis of symbolic and cultural forms of power exercised by immigrant and minority groups. Comparison on why certain groups or parts of certain groups remain outside of the reach of societal empowerment or why they do not seek to participate.
Focus groups: Roma, Sámi, immigrant groups with strong European connections
Niklas Wilhelmsson (Ph.D. Student / Researcher CEREN): Political opportunity structures and migrant mobilization: Finland in a comparative perspective
The objective: to explore how the political opportunity structure is framing the opportunities of immigrants and minority groups to participate in politics.
The research setting: comparative approach focusing both on local and national opportunity structures by comparing Finland with Sweden, the Netherlands and Great Britain following a political opportunity approach.
Research questions: 1) How does government institutions frame the participation opportunities of ethnic minorities? 2) Is there a risk for unequal participation opportunities for ethnic minorities due to their cultural and / or religious background? 3) Is the Nordic welfare model well equipped to accommodate the voices of minorities?
The theoretical framework: The study will combine the political opportunity approach with theoretical insights from social movement and social capital theory.
The data: survey material, statistics and documentation.