A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog

Master in International Social Welfare and Health Policy This thesis is a literature review, comparing research concerning Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway. The starting point for the comparison is the critique of Norwegian integration policies and welfare policies in general, as described...

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Main Author: Schulze, Solveig Lisa
Other Authors: Meyer, Frank
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: Høgskolen i Oslo. Avdeling for samfunnsfag 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10642/482
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spelling fthsosloakersoda:oai:oda.oslomet.no:10642/482 2023-05-15T16:32:51+02:00 A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog Schulze, Solveig Lisa Meyer, Frank 2010 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10642/482 eng eng Høgskolen i Oslo. Avdeling for samfunnsfag https://hdl.handle.net/10642/482 Somali Immigrants Minnesota Norway Immigration Integration Refugees VDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Sosialt arbeid: 360 Master thesis 2010 fthsosloakersoda 2021-10-11T16:54:57Z Master in International Social Welfare and Health Policy This thesis is a literature review, comparing research concerning Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway. The starting point for the comparison is the critique of Norwegian integration policies and welfare policies in general, as described by the Norwegian journalist Gerhard Helskog in his book “ The Immigrants’ Superpower” (2008). Helskog claims that immigrants in the US more successfully integrate, mainly because of the strong work requirements for newly arrived immigrants, tied to the limited welfare policies. By comparing research from the two societies, I aim to evaluate Helskog’s theories, particularly in the case of Somali immigrants. I have divided my findings into three main categories, describing the integration processes on different levels: strategies used by immigrants, strategies used by governments, and overall structural factors which influence the immigration processes. I find the groups of Somali immigrants in the two societies to be similar when it comes to characteristics like family-structure and education, but also related to strategies used to meet the challenges of the settlement processes. Maintaining religion and strong family ties, remittance sending to family and friends and clustering of populations in the main cities are some of the strategies used. How social capital is utilized differs to some extent between the two societies. The strategies used by governments for integrating the immigrants differ when it comes to duration, content and who is providing the services. The Norwegian Introductory Program lasts for two years, while the Refugee Cash Assistance Program in Minnesota is limited to eight months. The emphasis on language skills in the Norwegian program provides a different starting point for the Somali immigrants in Norway compared to those in Minnesota. But the labour market opportunities for the group are better in Minnesota, both because of the food processing industry and the Somalis own businesses, leaving the Somali immigrants in Minnesota with higher employment rates. Stigmatizing of the group based on skin colour and religion are obstacles that need to be overcome in both societies. However, the example of unusually high employment rates among Somali immigrants in Hammerfest, Norway, shows that whenever works are available, also for immigrants with lower education and scarce language skills, the Somali immigrants in both societies integrate seemingly well into the labour market. Master Thesis Hammerfest OsloMet (Oslo Metropolitan University): ODA (Open Digital Archive) Helskog ENVELOPE(15.221,15.221,67.304,67.304) Norway
institution Open Polar
collection OsloMet (Oslo Metropolitan University): ODA (Open Digital Archive)
op_collection_id fthsosloakersoda
language English
topic Somali
Immigrants
Minnesota
Norway
Immigration
Integration
Refugees
VDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Sosialt arbeid: 360
spellingShingle Somali
Immigrants
Minnesota
Norway
Immigration
Integration
Refugees
VDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Sosialt arbeid: 360
Schulze, Solveig Lisa
A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
topic_facet Somali
Immigrants
Minnesota
Norway
Immigration
Integration
Refugees
VDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Sosialt arbeid: 360
description Master in International Social Welfare and Health Policy This thesis is a literature review, comparing research concerning Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway. The starting point for the comparison is the critique of Norwegian integration policies and welfare policies in general, as described by the Norwegian journalist Gerhard Helskog in his book “ The Immigrants’ Superpower” (2008). Helskog claims that immigrants in the US more successfully integrate, mainly because of the strong work requirements for newly arrived immigrants, tied to the limited welfare policies. By comparing research from the two societies, I aim to evaluate Helskog’s theories, particularly in the case of Somali immigrants. I have divided my findings into three main categories, describing the integration processes on different levels: strategies used by immigrants, strategies used by governments, and overall structural factors which influence the immigration processes. I find the groups of Somali immigrants in the two societies to be similar when it comes to characteristics like family-structure and education, but also related to strategies used to meet the challenges of the settlement processes. Maintaining religion and strong family ties, remittance sending to family and friends and clustering of populations in the main cities are some of the strategies used. How social capital is utilized differs to some extent between the two societies. The strategies used by governments for integrating the immigrants differ when it comes to duration, content and who is providing the services. The Norwegian Introductory Program lasts for two years, while the Refugee Cash Assistance Program in Minnesota is limited to eight months. The emphasis on language skills in the Norwegian program provides a different starting point for the Somali immigrants in Norway compared to those in Minnesota. But the labour market opportunities for the group are better in Minnesota, both because of the food processing industry and the Somalis own businesses, leaving the Somali immigrants in Minnesota with higher employment rates. Stigmatizing of the group based on skin colour and religion are obstacles that need to be overcome in both societies. However, the example of unusually high employment rates among Somali immigrants in Hammerfest, Norway, shows that whenever works are available, also for immigrants with lower education and scarce language skills, the Somali immigrants in both societies integrate seemingly well into the labour market.
author2 Meyer, Frank
format Master Thesis
author Schulze, Solveig Lisa
author_facet Schulze, Solveig Lisa
author_sort Schulze, Solveig Lisa
title A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
title_short A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
title_full A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
title_fullStr A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
title_full_unstemmed A comparative study of Somali immigrants in Minnesota and Norway, a critical response to the book “The Immigrants’ Superpower” by Gerhard Helskog
title_sort comparative study of somali immigrants in minnesota and norway, a critical response to the book “the immigrants’ superpower” by gerhard helskog
publisher Høgskolen i Oslo. Avdeling for samfunnsfag
publishDate 2010
url https://hdl.handle.net/10642/482
long_lat ENVELOPE(15.221,15.221,67.304,67.304)
geographic Helskog
Norway
geographic_facet Helskog
Norway
genre Hammerfest
genre_facet Hammerfest
op_relation https://hdl.handle.net/10642/482
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