Researchers at the School of Global Studies have received the Nordic Journal of Migration Research’s Best Article Award 2024–2025. In the article, they examine how the goal of reducing migrant numbers became central to Swedish migration policy and how a strong focus on numbers could push aside knowledge about the consequences of these policies.
In the article Numbers, Ignorance and Swedish Migration Policy, the researchers analyse legislative processes and policy documents from a period when Swedish migration policy was undergoing major changes.
The researchers show how the goal of reducing migrant numbers came to shape migration policy and how numbers gained political power by appearing neutral and objective. At the same time, it was often unclear how these numbers should be understood in a broader context. Available knowledge about the consequences of migration policy for migrants and society at large was sidelined.
A key concept in the article is strategic ignorance. The researchers use the concept to describe how relevant knowledge can be ignored, even when it is available in the policymaking process.
The article was written by Anja Karlsson Franck and Joseph Trawicki Anderson, researchers at the School of Global Studies, together with Jessie Jern, a former Master’s student at the School who is now a doctoral student at the Swedish Defence University. The article was published in the Nordic Journal of Migration Research in 2025.
How does it feel to receive an award for your article?
– It feels great, of course, but also a little unexpected. We worked on this article for an incredibly long time – and, to be honest, we got pretty tired of it for a while – but we are of course very happy that it is appreciated by colleagues in the field, says Anja Karlsson Franck.
Read the article:
Numbers, Ignorance and Swedish Migration Policy