グローバル化する人の移動と高福祉国家ノルウェーの対応 －移民・難民増に人道主義はどこまで耐えられるのか－

Abstract

Norway has long been renowned for its open and liberal political tradition and high standard of welfare services. With vast export revenue from oil and gas produced in the North Sea offshore fields and its rather small population of less than five million, the Nordic country is the richest in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Since the 1970s Norway has generously opened it door to asylum seekers and refugees, and also admitted into its labour market foreign workers of both European and non-western origin. However, the country now faces a difficult task of how to coordinate its highly developed welfare system and the continuous influx of disproportionally large number of refugees and migrant workers. The eruption of ethnic/tribal conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Asia and Africa has dramatically increased the exodus of refugees to Europe including Norway. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have forced Oslo to accept a wave of refugees, and have thus added the burden on its welfare budget. Though Norway is not a member of the European Union, it constitutes a common market with the EU which is called the European Economic Area (EEA). The expansion of the EU has given the citizens of the new member states in Central and Eastern Europe the opportunity to live and work in Norway which boasts a high standard of welfare services. Norway is also the destination for many would-be migrant workers from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the CIS and South America. Owing to these two major causes, the number of immigrants in Norway has doubled over the past 13 years and reached approximately 460,000 or nearly 10% of the total population. Immigrants are concentrated in major cities, and in Oslo people of foreign origin occupy about one third of the registered residents. This drastic change of population structure has incurred social and political repercussions. The Progress Party was established in 1973 as an anti-tax protest group. It steadily gained support since the late 1980s, and has become the second largest party in the Strintinget (Parliament). Though the Progress Party is isolated by other parties and excluded from the coalition, its manifesto for the general election in September 2009 to cut down the influx of refugees to 100 and introduce stricter immigration restrictions succeeded to collect considerable popular support and has increased its seats. Can Norway cope with the heavy burden of globalised migration and sustain its humanitarian ideals and liberal political culture? In search of answers I took a study tour to Oslo in September 2010. While in Oslo, I met government officials, an adviser to the Progress Party on immigration policy, journalists, an expert researcher and the representatives of refugee and immigrant organisations. The following offers a brief summary of my findings and conclusions;(1)Though the government strengthened the regulations on asylum seekers and unskilled workers from outside the EEA, the goal of its immigration policy remains to regard newcomers as people with equal rights and to help them participate in society. This inclusive approach has proven to be effective in encouraging the newly arrived to adjust themselves to Norwegian society and way of life. This is particularly successful in the education of children and adults’ participation in the labour market. (2)The government and the trade unions cautiously observe the labour market. Unlike many other advanced countries, there exists no cheap wage work or social dumping in Norway. This prevents the exploitation of immigrants and the formation of a new poor class, and thus contributes to foster good inter-ethnic relations. (3)Though Norway’s fertility rate is higher than those of many other European countries, the population is still aging. Norway’s immigration policy includes a strategic aim of mitigating the aging of the population in order to maintain a high level of energy among its citizens. Actually, many talented second generation immigrants have come to identify themselves as mainstream Norwegian citizens and candidates of members of the upper middle class. (4)There are many things Japan can learn from Norway’s immigration policy. We have to establish and employ a strategy towards the future of our society.