A Study of the Refugees Welcome Movement in Malmö - Opportunity structures, Mobilisation and Framing

Abstract: This study examines the Refugees Welcome Movement campaign in Malmö between the period September 2015 and June 2016. The purpose of this study derives from the identification of a knowledge gap of descriptive, as well as analytical accounts that conceptualises the many and long withstanding occurrences of collective action within Social movement theory. This study aims therefore to tackle this knowledge gap in its quest to firstly, describe the Refugees Welcome Movement campaign along the following dimensions: Claim making, repertoire of collective action and its networks and organisational base. Secondly, with the help of an integrated theoretical model composed of cultural and structural factors analyse, and explain (i) the emergence of the Refugees Welcome Movement campaign, (ii) and the developments of the campaign over time. This study’s finds that the campaign can be defined as a segmented and pluralist campaign, which not the least is shown in the number of organisations that have taken part, multiple types of claim making and the broad and varied repertoire of collective action. The study also highlights the key role of organisations in the camping, as well as virtual and social networks. This study finally analyses and concludes on the explanatory value of cultural and structural factors in explaining the emergence of the Refugees Welcome Movement campaign in Malmö and the identified progressions within the campaign.