Simon Roland Birkvad

Birkvad, Simon Roland. 2023. "Circles of alienation: examining first-hand experiences of citizenship deprivation through the perspective of emotions and estrangement." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies:1-20. doi: 10.1080/1369183X.2023.2266148 

Birkvad, Simon Roland. 2023. “'Citizenship Cheaters' before the Law: Reading Fraud-Based Denaturalization in Norway through Lenses of Exceptionalism".  International Political Sociology 17 (1). doi: 10.1093/ips/olad006 

• Birkvad, Simon Roland (2023). Circles of alienation: examining first-hand experiences of citizenship deprivation through the perspective of emotions and estrangement. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. ISSN 1369-183X. doi: 10.1080/1369183X.2023.2266148. Full text in Research Archive
• Birkvad, Simon Roland (2023). "Citizenship Cheaters" before the Law: Reading Fraud-Based Denaturalization in Norway through Lenses of Exceptionalism. International Political Sociology. ISSN 1749-5679. 17(1), p. 1–20. doi: 10.1093/ips/olad006. Full text in Research Archive
• Brekke, Jan-Paul; Birkvad, Simon Roland & Erdal, Marta Bivand (2020). Losing the Right to Stay: Revocation of Refugee Permits in Norway. Journal of Refugee Studies. ISSN 0951-6328. 34(2), p. 1637–1656. doi: 10.1093/jrs/feaa006. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Following the record number of asylum seekers to Europe in 2015, Norway intensified its practice of revoking migrants’ residence permits and citizenships, which primarily affected refugees and their families, and reflects a broader international trend of increased use of temporary protection. This article explores the effects of revocation on individuals, their families and wider communities by analysing how revocation is experienced and its consequences for integration processes. Drawing on the concepts of deregulariation, temporality and integration, our analysis builds on interviews with migrants from Somalia and Afghanistan living in Norway. We find severe consequences for individuals affected by revocation processes and discuss spillover effects, most notably what we refer to as disintegration. Our conclusions point to the need for futher analytical scrutiny of both the consequences of intensified revocation practices and their purported effectiveness as a measure to regulate immigration.

• Birkvad, Simon Roland (2019). Immigrant meanings of citizenship: mobility, stability, and recognition. Citizenship Studies. ISSN 1362-1025. doi: 10.1080/13621025.2019.1664402. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Based on interviews with 21 immigrants in Norway, including both naturalized citizens and ‘denizens’, this article addresses immigrant meanings of citizenship and naturalization. The findings show that the interviewees attributed three meanings to citizenship. First, Norwegian citizenship served as a powerful means of spatial mobility, thereby facilitating transnational connections. Second, citizenship signified a legal stability that may guard precarious immigrants against ‘liminal legality’, i.e. enduring legal uncertainty. Third, citizenship was conceptualized as a formal recognition of equality and belonging, although ‘race’ and ethnicity persisted as salient markers of inequality and alienage. The article contributes empirically to the growing literature on the experiencing side of citizenship and naturalization by delineating what citizenship means to different groups, and to whom it matters the most. Theoretically, it contributes by demonstrating that citizenship acquisition may not only be strategic, but also rooted in needs of symbolic sanctioning of equality and belonging, particularly important to individuals debarred from naturalization.

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• Tica, Sabina; Kjos, Hannah Løke; Birkvad, Simon Roland; Ahmed, Uzair; Sunnemark, Erik Ludvig & Hjelle, Karoline Blix [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2024). Skal vi forske bak lukkede dører? Klassekampen. ISSN 0805-3839.
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Birkvad, Simon Roland & Erdal, Marta Bivand (2018). Hvem skal få bli statsborgere? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116. Show summary

  Aldri før har så mange fått norsk statsborgerskap som i fjor. Tilsammen ble 21.600 personer norske statsborgere i 2017, et stort flertall av dem fra ikke-europeiske land. «Det er på tide at vi slutter å dele ut statsborgerskap som om det er sukkertøy», uttalte Fremskrittspartiets innvandringspolitiske talsmann Jon Helgheim da tallene ble offentliggjort – til kraftig motbør fra Sandra Bruflot i Unge Høyre. Statsborgerskapspolitikk er ikke lenger et tradisjonelt høyre/venstre-spørsmål: Nye politiske allianser dannes i spørsmål om statsborgerskap. Det er nå flertall på Stortinget for å tillate dobbelt statsborgerskap, noe som også vil åpne for å kunne ta statsborgerskapet fra borgere som har utført handlinger til skade for Norges vitale interesser. Statsborgerskapspolitikken er med andre i ord i rask endring. Det er derfor på tide å spørre: Hva ønsker man med fremtidens norske statsborgerskapspolitikk i en globalisert verden?

• Brekke, Jan-Paul; Birkvad, Simon Roland & Erdal, Marta Bivand (2019). Losing the Right to Stay: Revocation of immigrant residence permits and citizenship in Norway — Experiences and effects. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. ISSN 978-82-7763-631-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent years, the Directorate of Immigration’s (UDI) handling of so-called revocation cases has received increased attention. These are cases where the authorities first grant residence permits and citizenship to migrants but later consider revoking these. Immigrants can have their right to stay in Norway revoked for a range of reasons, including having provided incorrect information when they were granted permits and in the case of refugees, because conditions improve in their home country. This report describes how those affected experience the process of revocation. The report is based on multiple data sources: statistics from the UDI’s data base; interviews with affected individuals from Afghanistan and Somalia, including representatives of their communities in Norway; and interviews with employees of the UDI and the police. After presenting descriptive statistics, we describe how the informants experienced the revocation process, including the effects of the revocation process on integration. Furthermore, we analyze how revocation affects the outlook and life strategies of those interviewed. This report provides a number of recommendations for improving the government’s handling of revocation, including developing a coherent communication strategy and reducing case processing time.

• Fladmoe, Audun; Nadim, Marjan & Birkvad, Simon Roland (2019). Erfaringer med hatytringer og hets blant LHBT-personer, andre minoritetsgrupper og den øvrige befolkningen. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. ISSN 978-82-7763-623-8. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Denne rapporten presenterer resultater fra en spørreundersøkelse om erfaringer med hatefulle ytringer blant LHBT-personer og den øvrige befolkningen. I tillegg presenteres funn fra en tilsvarende undersøkelse gjennomført blant medlemmer av FRI – Foreningenfor kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold, jødiske organisasjoner og samiske organisasjoner. Rapporten legger til grunn en definisjon av hatefulle ytringer som bevisst stigmatiserende, diskriminerende, nedverdigende eller truende ytringer rettet mot et individ eller en gruppe på grunnlag av bestemte (oppfattede) gruppekarakteristikker. Resultatene viser at LHBT-personer og andre minoritetsgrupper i langt større grad enn den øvrige befolkningen har vært utsatt for hatytringer. LHBT-personer og andre minoritetsgrupper utsettes også langt oftere enn den øvrige befolkningen for hatytringer som retter seg mot kjennetegn som er vernet av straffeloven (seksuell oientering, hudfarge, nasjonalitet, etnisitet, religion, folkegruppe og funksjonsevne), eller mot kjønn eller kjønnsidentitet/kjønnsuttrykk. Ytringene som rettes mot den øvrige befolkningen, er oftere mer generelle former for hets og er rettet mot andre forhold, som personlighet og politisk ståsted. Majoriteten av respondentene har i løpet av det siste året observert ytringer de oppfatter som hatefulle, og et betydelig mindretall svarer også at de har observert konkrete trusler. Den mest utbredte reaksjonen blant dem som har vært utsatt for eller har observert h tytringer, er opprørthet og sinne. LHBT-personer uttrykker i mye større grad enn personer i den øvrige befolkningen at de har følt seg utrygge etter å ha vært utsatt for eller ha observert hatytringer. Selv om hatytringer ofte fører til emosjonelle reaksjoner og tilbaketrekking, kan slike ytringer også føre til mobilisering og økt engasjement. Rapporten avsluttes med en gjennomgang av kunnskapsbehov.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Birkvad, Simon Roland & Erdal, Marta Bivand (2018). Citizenship in the Nordic Countries : past, present, future. The Nordic Council of Ministers. ISSN 978-92-893-5523-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Nordic countries have a century-long tradition for cooperation within the area of citizenship law. Since the mid-1970s, however, the Nordic countries have moved in different directions. Today, the Nordic countries represent the entire continuum in European citizenship policies – from liberal Sweden to restrictive Denmark, with the other Nordic neighbors in between. This report reviews the historical development and the current citizenship regime in the five Nordic countries, it provides statistics on the acquisition and loss of citizenship in each country over the past 10–15 years, and it offers a comparative analysis of the divergent development of citizenship law in the 2000s. The concluding chapter discusses possible consequences of the different citizenship regimes and the prospects for strengthened cooperation between the Nordic countries in the area of citizenship law.

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