Participation Paradox: Asylum Seekers’ Everyday Participation in Finland

Asylum seekers are separated from the receiving society by the legislation, marginalising societal discourses and institutional practices of the reception system. By engaging in previous studies on how asylum seekers exert agency within the limits of existing power relations and structural constraints, we examine asylum seekers’ everyday participation in reception centres and the local community. We uncover the participation paradox, in which conflicting discourses, policies and practices simultaneously restrict and expect asylum seekers’ participation. Drawing on qualitative interviews with a diverse group of asylum seekers, we analyse their narratives about engagement in local life and institutions. The study shows mundane, small-scale participation, performed by individuals or small groups that is focused on improving immediate living conditions and enhancing opportunities in local communities, thereby escaping the liminal conditions of their life and the stigma of an asylum seeker.