Ideas of Integration in the Swedish Welfare State. An Idea Analysis of Approaches to Activation in the Establishment Reform

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between the state and the individual by studying the Establishment reform. As part of the Swedish integration strategy the Establishment reform aims at facilitating the integration of newly arrived immigrants through participation in an active policy program. The study is conducted through a descriptive idea analysis, using an ideal-type model of four diverse approaches to activation as point of reference. The ideal-types are related to different perspectives on social exclusion. It is established that the reform holds features of several ideal-typical approaches to activation and that these coexists in a seemingly contradictory manner which is connected to a discussion on the individuals' rights and duties in the Swedish welfare state. The Establishment reform illustrates a deviation from the ideal-typical social-democratic welfare regime due to its emphasis on conditioned financial incentives. Labor-market inclusion is the predominant objective of the Establishment reform which fails to reflect how integration is a relative and complex concept. Newly arrived immigrants' inclusion into other spheres of society appears to be of less importance to the welfare state provided that the immigrant contributes to the financial gain of the state.