Neither Assimilation nor Integration: The identity of the Turkish Diaspora in Sweden, A case study in Malmö

Författare

Ahmed Nuri Ahmed

Summary, in English

This research is to investigate and analyse an identity formation of an immigrant group in a host country. The author would like to understand immigrants’ identities as a diaspora community, by focusing on Turkish community in Sweden and identification process in terms of personal and collective identities, using the diaspora as a ground theory with semi-structured individual interviews in which narrative analysis method is, then used to analyse the material of interviews. As there is no case study or prominent research about the topic of the research, this essay intends to be descriptive at first, then to make a new path for future researches. By all means, it seeks to analyse and make a conceptualization of Turkish diaspora in Malmö with some comparisons of the Turkish diaspora in Malmö and Turkish communities in Stockholm and Gothenburg by questioning how members of a Turkish diaspora have both individual and collective identities in a Malmö; how they position themselves between their previous values and identity and among other diaspora communities in Malmö. This essay inquires the meaning of being a Turk as a member of Turkish diaspora. The specific target group that was made interviews are Turkish men those came to Sweden as immigrants and/or those who were born in Sweden that are members of one of Turkish associations in Malmö. By using the concept of diaspora eight main features is formulated considering the concept of diaspora and Turkish diaspora in Malmö. These are ethno-national group, dispersion, homeland orientation, boundary maintenance, self-identification, positive diaspora consciousness, negative diaspora consciousness, and Turkish associations in Malmö. It is tried to find out some concrete answers and to have results with a case study. A main finding of research shows that the Turkish diaspora in Malmö is precisely different from the ones in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Another finding is that there is relatively high conflict between Turkish associations and different groups among the Turkish diaspora in Malmö. Therefore, the Turkish diaspora does not have socially, politically and culturally visible impacts on their members and their life, however, Turkish identity is reconstructed repeatedly via Turkish associations.

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