Ignored work: Channelling temporary migration to the ´New Green North’

Temporary migration, characterized by its precarious nature, is on the rise. However, despite its crucial role, temporary migration is often overlooked. This project aims to shed light on the migration infrastructures that sustain temporary migration.

We argue that even though migrants may be temporary, the infrastructures they travel within —comprising institutions, actors, objects and technologies—are enduring, effectively shaping the places they intersect with.

By examining the politically endorsed reindustrialization of Northern Sweden, or the ‘New Green North,’ and its reliance on temporary migrant workers, we seek to understand the dynamics of temporary migration.

Focusing on construction workers, we analyze the infrastructures, spatialities and precarity associated with their migration.

This enables us to investigate the production of migration infrastructures and their consequences for both workers and the places they intersect with.

This research addresses a significant gap in understanding the relationship between temporary migration and migration infrastructures.

Employing ethnographically inspired methods, including interviews at national and regional levels and on-the-ground fieldwork in case study areas, we aim to reveal the interplay between migration infrastructures, people and places.

This study offers valuable insights into the complexities of temporary migration dynamics, contributing to a deeper comprehension of their role in societal transformation.