Past Seminars
Temporary Legality: Regulating Asylum through Housing and Education in the Swedish Welfare State
Speaker: Sofi Jansson-Keshavarz (Center for Migration and Integration Research, Stockholm School of Economics)
Abstract: In this seminar, Sofi Jansson-Keshavarz will present her doctoral thesis on the shift towards temporary protection for refugees in Sweden since 2016, and what this means in practice for access to permanent residency and family reunification.
The thesis introduces the concept of temporary legality to describe a condition in which individuals remain in a prolonged state of legal uncertainty. Focusing on residence-permit requirements related to housing and education, the study shows how these function as “internal borders” within the welfare state.
Drawing on interviews with welfare practitioners, local politicians, and civil society actors, as well as policy and legal materials, the research highlights how migration law is enacted at the municipal level. It demonstrates how local practices can shape, soften, or reinforce national policy—leading to uneven and, at times, racialised access to rights and long-term status.
Date and time: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 12:30 - 14:00
Location: Room B706, Stockholm School of Economics
Ethnic national identity and public support for regularization opportunities of irregular migrants
Speakers: Anton Ahlén (Center for Migration and Integration Research, Stockholm School of Economics) and Lutz Gschwind (Uppsala University)
Abstract: In this paper, Ahlén and Gschwind analyze the relationship between ethnic conceptions of national identity and support for the inclusion of irregular migrants, using a large-scale conjoint survey experiment with 5,000 respondents across Austria, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The paper is part of a special issue on Irregular migrants in Europe (guest ed Martin Ruhs) to be published in Migration Studies.
Date and time: Tuesday, May 19, 12:30 - 14:00
Location: Room B706, Stockholm School of Economics