Interpretations of sustainability in Finnish migration policy documents
Ansamaa, Iida (2024)
2024
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-03-21
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202402262549
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202402262549
Tiivistelmä
Previous research has agreed that sustainability is a complex concept. Equally complex is governance of migration in a multilevel setting. This master’s thesis contributes to the discussion on sustainability of migration policies by exploring current interpretations of sustainability in Finnish migration policy documents.
This master’s thesis is empirically led. The key concepts of this thesis are sustainability and multilevel governance. The complex and flexible natures of both of the key concepts are discussed. The specific context of the research is Finnish migration governance. As a member state of the European Union, the migration governance of Finland is influenced by the supranational level.
The research was conducted with an interpretative approach. Qualitative policy document analysis was utilised as a research method. Data consisted of 237 migration policy documents, which underwent summative content analysis. The later stages of the summative content analysis were influenced by thematic data analysis methods.
As a result of the summative content analysis, it was found that only 20% of the documents within data included mentions of sustainability. When sustainability was mentioned, sustainability was spoken about in a variety of ways. Descriptive, definitive and general mentions of sustainability were identified, as well as utilising terminology, and references to other documents. Six interpretations of sustainability were present in Finnish migration policy documents: sustainability as adaptability; sustainability as economic interests; sustainability as responsibilities and obligations; sustainability as societal wellbeing; sustainability as stability; and sustainability as quality processes and systems. Sustainability as adaptability was the least observed interpretation, and sustainability as quality processes and systems was the most observed interpretation.
The findings revealed that the element of change and the effect of multilevel governance are important factors of sustainability in Finnish migration policies. Change is perceived differently depending on the interpretation of sustainability. European Union as a supranational level sets obligations to Finland as a national state, and it is also seen as part of a joint system, thus affecting sustainability at the national level. The findings also revealed that Finnish migration policy is focused on economic sustainability, and there is no balance between the traditional trifold understanding of sustainability as economic, ecological, and social.
This thesis contributes to the discussion of how sustainability can be defined by context. Additionally, this thesis points to the direction that change as an element has a central role on interpretations of sustainability within the context of migration policy. This thesis also contributes to the discussion on multilevel governance and how it has an effect on national level policies. This thesis revealed fruitful opportunities for future research, for example in tracking changes in interpretations of sustainability, utilising different approaches and methods, and focusing on different levels such as organisational or local
This master’s thesis is empirically led. The key concepts of this thesis are sustainability and multilevel governance. The complex and flexible natures of both of the key concepts are discussed. The specific context of the research is Finnish migration governance. As a member state of the European Union, the migration governance of Finland is influenced by the supranational level.
The research was conducted with an interpretative approach. Qualitative policy document analysis was utilised as a research method. Data consisted of 237 migration policy documents, which underwent summative content analysis. The later stages of the summative content analysis were influenced by thematic data analysis methods.
As a result of the summative content analysis, it was found that only 20% of the documents within data included mentions of sustainability. When sustainability was mentioned, sustainability was spoken about in a variety of ways. Descriptive, definitive and general mentions of sustainability were identified, as well as utilising terminology, and references to other documents. Six interpretations of sustainability were present in Finnish migration policy documents: sustainability as adaptability; sustainability as economic interests; sustainability as responsibilities and obligations; sustainability as societal wellbeing; sustainability as stability; and sustainability as quality processes and systems. Sustainability as adaptability was the least observed interpretation, and sustainability as quality processes and systems was the most observed interpretation.
The findings revealed that the element of change and the effect of multilevel governance are important factors of sustainability in Finnish migration policies. Change is perceived differently depending on the interpretation of sustainability. European Union as a supranational level sets obligations to Finland as a national state, and it is also seen as part of a joint system, thus affecting sustainability at the national level. The findings also revealed that Finnish migration policy is focused on economic sustainability, and there is no balance between the traditional trifold understanding of sustainability as economic, ecological, and social.
This thesis contributes to the discussion of how sustainability can be defined by context. Additionally, this thesis points to the direction that change as an element has a central role on interpretations of sustainability within the context of migration policy. This thesis also contributes to the discussion on multilevel governance and how it has an effect on national level policies. This thesis revealed fruitful opportunities for future research, for example in tracking changes in interpretations of sustainability, utilising different approaches and methods, and focusing on different levels such as organisational or local