Integration of Migrants in Finland and Slovenia: Comparing Northern and Southern Models of Migration Management

The project aims at providing analyzes of migration policies in Finland and Slovenia by considering in a comparative perspective both historical legacies, migration trends and current trends in migration management. The different histories of the two countries shaped the so-called Nordic and the South-East European model of migration management. While the former derives from the Nordic legacy of the welfare state with its residence based social rights, the latter was shaped by a socialist legacy that, combined with the post-independence nationalistic strives, nowadays tends to resemble the Mediteranean migration model marked by intensification of prevention policies and the weakening of the welfare provisions. The project compares migration patterns in the two states and analyzes the different policy responses in the context of historical specificities of the two countries as well as from the perspective of the common EU migration policy.

The project plan of activities aims to:
1. Further develop a bilateral comparative perspective on central aspects of work that the research team had jointly produced, such as integration of migrants and their positions in the labour market.
2. Further debate and deepen our understanding of issues crucial for the integration of migrants in both societies via the exchange of ideas at workshops and conferences.
3. Develop further and publish joint comparative papers in scholarly journals and books at an international and national level.
4. Further disseminate ideas at national, local and international level.

Project leader: Mojca Pajnik
Project coworkers: Ana Frank, Maija Jappinen, Aino Saarinen and Jovana Mihajlović Trbovc



Project execution

Building on the previous common research (Primts project) the project compares the feminization of migration in Finland with the opposite trends in Slovenia where migrants who enter the county for purposes of work are predominately males. The projects sees how the factor of gender in migration shapes the situation in the labor market for migrants in the two countries. While manufacturing, hotels and tourism prevail among the sectors that engage migrant workers in Finland, and construction sector is the most predominant among sectors in Slovenia, migrants in both countries tend to occupy the more difficult and less stable job positions that are unattractive to the native workers. The project aims at evaluating how the two countries cope with migration, what are migration and integration policies and how do they respond to migrants’ labor.

Partners:

Aleksanteri Institute, Helsinki University

Funders:

Slovenian Research Agency