Human Rights and Human Capital: The Influence of the UNHCR and the OECD on the Swedish Refugee Education Reform

Resumen

This study analyzes differences between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) global scripts and how they influence Sweden’s refugee education reform. This study examines human rights-based policies as recommended in the UNHCR’s Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion (2023) and human capital-based policies in the OECD’s Strength Through Diversity: Spotlight Report for Sweden (2019). I compare these recommendations to the enacted policies outlined in the Swedish Ministry of Education’s legal framework, the School Act. I argue that tensions between human rights and human capital in Sweden’s refugee education reform are exacerbated by global pressures, supporting world society theory. The findings reveal the degree of alignment between each international governmental organization’s policy recommendations and Sweden’s refugee education reforms, contributing to the literature on refugee education both globally and in Sweden.