Nina Carlsson

Introduction

I am a Research Fellow at the Migration Institute of Finland, a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University and project researcher at Södertörn University. I obtained a PhD in Political Science from Södertörn University in 2021. My research deals with the politics and governance of citizenship, minoritized populations, borders, and language.

I am PI of the Kone Foundation funded project How to draw a cultural border: The introduction of citizenship testing in Finland and Sweden (2025-2029) at the Migration Institute of Finland. I am project researcher in the project National Membership in a New Security Landscape: Ambivalently Securitized Migrants in the Baltic Sea Region” (Baltic Sea Foundation, 2026-2028). My International postdoctoral project (funded by the Swedish Research Council 2023-2026) investigates language and civic knowledge requirements in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. During the project time, I was visiting researcher at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, the Migration Institute of Finland, and at the University of Copenhagen.

My other research deals with the position of national minorities within the governance of immigration and citizenship, the far right, and belonging. My research is based on interviews and policy documents, and I employ analytical methods that draw from critical policy analysis.

Projects

How to draw a cultural border: The introduction of citizenship testing in Finland and Sweden (Kone Foundation), 2025-2029

National Membership in a New Security Landscape: Ambivalently Securitized Migrants in the Baltic Sea Region” (Baltic Sea Foundation, 2026-2028)

Everyday bordering through language requirements in multilingual cities (Swedish Research Council), 2023-2025

Recent publications

Carlsson, Nina. 2026. “Neither Swedes nor Migrants: Autochthonous Minorities as a Challenge to the Swedish Far Right.” Patterns of Prejudice (vol. 59, no. 4/5). Online first.

Carlsson, Nina. 2026. “Gatekeeping through Citizenship Testing: Navigating Discretion and Standardization in the Assessment of ‘Inner Values’ in Danish Naturalization.” Political Research Exchange 8 (1): 2629801. https://doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2026.2629801

Carlsson, Nina, and Tuire Liimatainen. Forthcoming. “Temporal Strategies in Migrant Diaspora Mobilization: Sweden-Finns’ Pathway to National Minority Status.” In Handbook on Diasporas and Migration, edited by Ayhan Kaya and Nilay Kilinc. Edward Elgar. Edward Elgar.

Borevi, Karin, and Nina Carlsson. 2025. “Borders, Security, and Restrictive Policy Shifts in Sweden and Finland.” In Changing Migration Patterns: A Comparative Study on the Movement of People and the Impact for Countries in the Region, edited by Ninna Mörner. CBEES State of the Region Report. Södertörn University. https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1980598/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Carlsson, Nina. 2024. “Dreams of Mass Repatriation: Government and Far-Right Expansions of Deportability in Sweden.” Citizenship Studies 28(4–5):462–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2024.2418604

Carlsson, Nina. 2024. “The Absence of Indigenous Languages in Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Immigrant Introduction Programmes.” In Minority Language Learning for Adult Migrants in Europe, edited by James Simpson and Sari Pöyhönen. Routledge.

Liimatainen, Tuire, and Nina Carlsson. 2023. “Våga Finska! Sverigefinsk aktivism på sociala medier.” In Sveriges Nationella Minoritetsspråk, eds. Linus Salö and Tommaso M Milani. Lund: Studentlitteratur, 67–96.

Carlsson, Nina. 2023. “Boundaries and Belonging Among Settled Minorities and Refugees in Bulgaria.” Nationalities Papers 51(5): 1123–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2021.80.

Bonotti, Matteo, Nina Carlsson, and Colin W Rowe. 2022. “Introduction: Linguistic Justice, Migration and the Nation‐state.” Nations and Nationalism 28(2): 379–86. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12793.

Carlsson, Nina. 2022. “Majority Nation‐building through Language Requirements: Minority Perspectives from EU27.” Nations and Nationalism 28(2): 465–82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12796.

Liimatainen, Tuire, and Nina Carlsson. 2021. “’Kyss mig, jag är en sverigefinne!’ Gränsdragningar mellan invandrarskap och minoritetsskap i den sverigefinska etnopolitiska mobiliseringen 1980-2020.” Tidskrift för Genusvetenskap 42(4): 76–99. doi:https://doi.org/10.55870/tgv.v42i4.6058.

Carlsson, Nina. 2021. “One Nation, One Language? National Minority and Indigenous Recognition in the Politics of Immigrant Integration.” Doctoral Diss. Huddinge: Södertörn University. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1510021/FULLTEXT01.pdf.