Standing on the frontline: Exploring representational work for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Norway

This article explores the representation of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers as a distinct form of work, undertaken at the frontline of the Norwegian asylum system. Inspired by institutional ethnography, we examine the nature of this work from the standpoint of representatives in Norway and through regulatory texts defining their role and responsibilities. In the analysis, we show how the textual definitions and delineations of representation do not always overlap neatly with either what representatives do or what they feel they should be doing. Conceptualising the work of representatives as a type of frontline work, we identify a tension between a need to be active, doing work to activate rights, and an institutional message encouraging the representatives to act passively. This illustrates the difficulties of doing representational work, with potential consequences for the minors whose rights and well-being are at stake.