Towards a safe haven: Students from post-Soviet countries pursuing education in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic

IF 2.6 2区 社会学 Q1 DEMOGRAPHY
Mette Ginnerskov-Dahlberg
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Abstract

This article delves into the motivations and aspirations of students from post-Soviet countries who opted for education in Sweden amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In stark contrast to most nations which enforced stringent lockdown measures to curb the transmission of the coronavirus, Sweden adopted a relatively laissez-faire approach, keeping significant sectors of society operational. While Sweden's strategy garnered considerable global scrutiny and critique, the students in this study exhibited a notable lack of apprehension regarding the global health crisis or Sweden's controversial approach to the pandemic. For these students, the COVID-19 pandemic primarily manifested as a practical impediment to their forthcoming academic endeavours. Conversely, they perceived various enduring societal challenges in their countries of origin–such as unemployment, anxiety and distrust towards governmental authorities, and even armed conflict–as possessing a more entrenched and formidable nature, posing a greater threat to their overall well-being. Against this backdrop, Sweden emerged as a perceived sanctuary capable of reinstating a state of ontological security, especially for the students identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community and with political convictions frowned upon by the government of their home country. By focusing on the narratives of these individuals and adopting a conceptual framework that views ‘crisis’ as a relational construct, this study sheds light on the divergent experiences and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic among international student cohorts. This approach underscores the nuanced and context-dependent nature of their responses to the pandemic, emphasising the imperative of empirically accounting for these variations.

走向安全避难所:COVID-19 大流行期间在瑞典求学的后苏联国家学生
本文探讨了在 COVID-19 大流行期间选择到瑞典接受教育的后苏联国家学生的动机和愿望。与大多数国家采取严格的封锁措施以遏制冠状病毒传播形成鲜明对比的是,瑞典采取了相对自由放任的态度,让社会的重要部门保持运作。虽然瑞典的策略在全球范围内引起了广泛的关注和批评,但本研究中的学生对全球健康危机或瑞典有争议的大流行病应对方法明显缺乏忧虑。对这些学生来说,COVID-19 大流行主要表现为对他们即将开始的学业的实际阻碍。相反,他们认为原籍国的各种持久性社会挑战--如失业、焦虑和对政府当局的不信任,甚至武装冲突--具有更加根深蒂固和可怕的性质,对他们的整体福祉构成了更大的威胁。在这种背景下,瑞典成为了一个能够恢复本体安全状态的避难所,尤其是对于那些自称是 LGBTQ+ 群体成员、其政治信仰为本国政府所不齿的学生而言。通过关注这些人的叙述,并采用将 "危机 "视为一种关系建构的概念框架,本研究揭示了留学生群体对 COVID-19 大流行的不同体验和看法。这种方法强调了他们对这一流行病的反应的细微差别和背景依赖性,强调了对这些差异进行实证分析的必要性。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.00
自引率
12.50%
发文量
87
期刊介绍: Population, Space and Place aims to be the leading English-language research journal in the field of geographical population studies. It intends to: - Inform population researchers of the best theoretical and empirical research on topics related to population, space and place - Promote and further enhance the international standing of population research through the exchange of views on what constitutes best research practice - Facilitate debate on issues of policy relevance and encourage the widest possible discussion and dissemination of the applications of research on populations - Review and evaluate the significance of recent research findings and provide an international platform where researchers can discuss the future course of population research
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