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image from park in Malmö, by Patrik Lundberg

Anna Lundberg

Head of department

image from park in Malmö, by Patrik Lundberg

Struggles over human rights in local government–the case of access to education for undocumented youth in Malmö, Sweden

Author

  • Anna Lundberg
  • Michael Strange

Summary, in English

The present article elaborates on struggles over the inclusion and exclusion of undocumented children and young people in the Swedish school system. Through conducting an in-depth case study on the issue of access to school in the city of Malmö in Sweden, our analysis demonstrates how the right to education for undocumented migrant children is subject to a process of struggle between divergent discourses on children’s human rights. Internal debates at the city level of governance are identified around, for example, whether the police could be denied access to schools or if contradictory messages from various authorities might lead to a legitimacy problem. Other questions are the registration of grades when the children concerned are reluctant to be put into a register due to the risks involved; and if fictitious names could be used on class lists that police officers can request. As the article shows, these local struggles are an expression of tensions between different levels of governance that are also affected by the migration control regime, as regards rights for children who are residing irregularly. In that respect, there is a struggle over the appropriate legalistic discourse–as in, to which level should it make reference. However, actors contesting a restrictive interpretation of the right to education also make substantial use of, what we call here, an ‘experiential’ discourse–that is, drawing upon the everyday experiences and feelings of those whose rights are in question. Struggles at the local governance level also have relevance for exploring substantial parts of the broader political context in which the human rights of undocumented migrants are (de)contested.

Publishing year

2017-04-03

Language

English

Pages

146-165

Publication/Series

Critical Policy Studies

Volume

11

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Political Science

Keywords

  • city
  • education
  • Hannah Arendt
  • Human rights
  • irregular child
  • local government
  • Malmö
  • minor
  • undocumented youth

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1946-0171