Kaisu Koskela | Radboud University Nijmegen (original) (raw)

Uploads

Books by Kaisu Koskela

Publications of the Faculty of Social Sciences 163, 2020

This PhD dissertation is about social identities, group boundaries and belonging among skilled mi... more This PhD dissertation is about social identities, group boundaries and belonging among skilled migrants living in Finland. It is based on empirical data consisting of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews. The main research question I ask is: In their process of settling in in Finland, how do skilled migrants find and define a place for themselves within the structures of their new host society? In addition, I ask questions about the strategies of identity negotiations, the role of class and ethnicity for skilled migrants’ social identities, and how skilled migrants’ group identity is defined in relation to others around them. I approach these questions from the perspective of interactionist identity theories and intersectionality.

The findings of the research are presented in four peer-reviewed articles. The main findings are firstly that despite their more privileged socio-economic situation, skilled migrants are experiencing similar issues with integrating, adapting and belonging in Finland as other migrants. They are subjected to racializing discourses, stereotypes and attitudes in much the same way as other migrants are. Secondly, while white skilled migrants are readily viewed as a ‘migrant elite’, racialized skilled migrants feel that they are perceived in the negative image of ‘the migrant’ as a non-western, non-skilled, nonprivileged subject. However, they themselves identify first and foremost as skilled migrants, a social group identity that is based largely on shared class status. Thirdly, there is a conflict between this internal group identification and how racialized skilled migrants perceive themselves to be categorized. This conflict leads to various boundary making strategies that aim at being seen in a more positive way and included in the ‘migrant elite’ category that is understood as a positive, valuable social identity in itself. Together, the findings of the articles point to the continued centrality of the intersection of class and ethnicity in the lives of skilled migrants in Finland.

In answering the research question, I conclude that skilled migrants do not feel that they are accepted as full members of Finnish society or seen as equal to Finns. Belonging is therefore searched from a ‘parallel international society of Finland’ consisting of other skilled migrants and ‘internationally-minded Finns’, rather than Finnish society as a whole. As such, the research also demonstrates that ideas about what integration and belonging mean for skilled migrants are based on their own beliefs of their place within the societal whole. Rather than integrating unidirectionally into the host society in the host society’s terms, their integration is an ongoing process of negotiations between structure and agency: between the Finns’ attitudes towards immigrants and their own understandings of their value as members of an internationalizing society.

Journal Articles by Kaisu Koskela

Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 2024

This article presents a comparative case study of the "Digital Nomad Visas" (DNVs) of Croatia, Th... more This article presents a comparative case study of the "Digital Nomad Visas" (DNVs) of Croatia, Thailand and Spain. Analysing common themes for these visas, the article identifies varying policy rationales that have guided their development, naming these the tourism, wealth accumulation and immigration rationales. The article then introduces a two-scale typology of DNVs centred around the dimensions of civic attachment and temporality. The findings illustrate the evolving nature of DNVs from ad hoc pandemic responses to strategic tools for socioeconomic development and draw attention to the visas' role in the broader context of global mobilities and labour market transformations.

Social Identities, 2020

This article is about self-defined social identities, other people's perceptions of us and the po... more This article is about self-defined social identities, other people's perceptions of us and the potentially conflictual relationship between these two. Building on a Barthian focus on group boundaries, the article takes the interplay between external categorizations and internal group definitions as its point of departure to examine how individuals negotiate the boundaries of their social identities. Based on a case study of skilled migrants with racialized ethnicities in Finland, I look at how they express their self-defined identity as well-to-do, skilled professionals in the face of contradicting categorizations of them as unskilled , lower-class migrant subjects. I identify two types of complementary approaches employed by the skilled migrants in boundary making strategies to their identity negotiations: those de-emphasizing ethnicity (or its importance), and those emphasizing class status. These approaches are two sides of the same coin; coming from different perspectives, they both aim at a more positively viewed identity, and for individuals to be seen as well-to-do, educated, working professionals, rather than as ethnic migrant subjects. As such, the article also highlights the interconnection of class and ethnicity for the social identities of skilled migrants in Finland. ARTICLE HISTORY

Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 2019

The aim of this article is to study the experiences of highly skilled migrants from an intersecti... more The aim of this article is to study the experiences of highly skilled migrants from an intersectional perspective. Based on a case study of a group of skilled migrants in Finland, this article explores the interplay of various social identities and categorizations in their everyday life. I argue that although class markers are an important element in the self-defined group identification for skilled migrants, they are also subjected to intersecting social categorizations, stereotyping and assumptions based on gender, ethnicity, race and nationality, creating different experiences and belongings for different skilled migrants. Anthias’ concept of ‘translocational positionality’ is used to highlight how these intersections are highly situational, context specific and relative to other actors in the Finnish context.

Journal of Finnish Studies 2014, 17(1-2); special issue on highly skilled migration and Finland, eds. Driss Habti and Saara Koikkalainen (Sam Houston State University)

This article introduces a concept of a “migrant hierarchy,” a framework that is formed from Finni... more This article introduces a concept of a “migrant hierarchy,” a framework that is formed from Finnish society’s views on different types of immigrants. The hierarchy places value on immigrants in Finland based on their ethnicity, socio-economic status, and various other interlinking factors, dividing them into differently valued categories. Against this framework, the relevance of such a hierarchy to the everyday lives of highly-skilled migrants in Finland is explored, using data from ethnographic fieldwork and interviews. The data are used to describe these migrants’ experiences of being categorized and perceived as particular types of immigrants, and the relevance of these experiences to their social life and their self-defined group identities. The data show, firstly, that highly-skilled migrants in Finland are aware of the migrant hierarchy, and that it has an impact on their lives. Secondly, although they object to its homogenizing and hierarchizing aspects, the categorizations of the hierarchy are still internalized to a certain extent, affecting identity constructions. Exploring these issues reveals boundaries that imply underlying problems in regards to the social integration and feelings of belonging by highly-skilled migrants in Finland.

e-migrinter, 2010

Finland has traditionally not been a country of immigration. The number of immigrants is still co... more Finland has traditionally not been a country of immigration. The number of immigrants is still comparatively small. Research in the field has concentrated on culturally distant groups and their problems in integrating into Finnish society. The first studies of 2nd generation immigrants have recently also added to the academic discussion. However, a new field within Finnish migration studies is now emerging, that of the study of the highly-skilled migrant labour force. This is still a very small group within the immigration statistics, but one that differs vastly from the immigration that Finland has previously received. The skilled migrants are generally seen as an economic concern, and much of the research reflects this. Therefore issues related to the social sphere and integration have been to a large extent ignored. This article will look at the initial results of this emerging research field, and offer recommendations for future research while drawing links between relevant research and policy making.

Reports by Kaisu Koskela

INTERACT Research Report, Country Report, no. 29, 2014

INTERACT-Researching Third Country Nationals' Integration as a Three-way Process-Immigrants, Coun... more INTERACT-Researching Third Country Nationals' Integration as a Three-way Process-Immigrants, Countries of Emigration and Countries of Immigration as Actors of Integration Around 25 million persons born in a third country (TCNs) are currently living in the European Union (EU), representing 5% of its total population. Integrating immigrants, i.e. allowing them to participate in the host society at the same level as natives, is an active, not a passive, process that involves two parties, the host society and the immigrants, working together to build a cohesive society. Policy-making on integration is commonly regarded as primarily a matter of concern for the receiving state, with general disregard for the role of the sending state. However, migrants belong to two places: first, where they come and second, where they now live. While integration takes place in the latter, migrants maintain a variety of links with the former. New means of communication facilitating contact between migrants and their homes, globalisation bringing greater cultural diversity to host countries, and nation-building in source countries seeing expatriate nationals as a strategic resource have all transformed the way migrants interact with their home country. INTERACT project looks at the ways governments and non-governmental institutions in origin countries, including the media, make transnational bonds a reality, and have developed tools that operate economically (to boost financial transfers and investments); culturally (to maintain or revive cultural heritage); politically (to expand the constituency); legally (to support their rights).

Graduate work by Kaisu Koskela

Lectio by Kaisu Koskela

Tiedepolitiikka, 2020

My dissertation is titled “Negotiating the ‘migrant elite’: Boundary making and social identities... more My dissertation is titled “Negotiating the ‘migrant elite’: Boundary making and social identities among skilled migrants in Finland”. In its essence, it is about the everyday experiences and social life of skilled migrants living in Finland. I became interested in this topic and in this type of migrant due to my own experiences as a member of similar multicultural, international social groups elsewhere....