Migrant Citizens Research Articles

The Future of Multiracial Democracy: Liberal Democracy in an Age of Immigration

ABSTRACT: Across democracies, there are concerns that immigration poses threats to liberal democracy. The conventional narrative focuses on two threats. First, as migrant inflows and ethnic diversity have risen, so has public support for nativist radical-right parties who are only weakly attached to democracy. Second, migrants themselves adhere to comparatively illiberal positions on a range of issues, with adverse consequences for liberalism. These narratives place the blame on mass publics. By contrast, this essay argues that mainstream political elites are frequently at fault. Even though large popular majorities are wedded to liberal democracy and open to immigration, mainstream parties have consistently adopted rhetoric and campaign strategies that legitimize and empower native and migrant citizens who promote illiberal politics. To the extent that immigration presents risks to liberal democracy, centrist political elites have facilitated and escalated these threats.

Assimilationism, Sexual Nationalism, and the Backlash Against Gender and Sexuality

Fifteen years ago my co-authors and I wrote an article discussing the politics of sexual nationalism in the Netherlands (Mepschen at al., 2010). We argued that gay and lesbian emancipation had come to center almost solely on the political idea of the “integration” of alleged sexual and religious others into the Dutch moral community. We pointed out that the Dutch case was exemplary of wider European developments. In various European countries we have witnessed complex transformations in the relationship between the nation and the question of sexual democracy (Fassin, 2012). Lesbian and gay rights and discourses have been weaponized to frame Western Europe as the “avatar of both freedom and modernity” (Butler 2008, 2) and depict its Muslim citizens and others with a migration background as backwards and homophobic. In the words of the queer theorist Jasbir Puar (2007), who coined the term ‘homonationalism,’ gay rights have been recast as an “optic, and an operative technology” in the production and disciplining of Muslim Others (See also Rahman 2014.) Cases of homophobia among Muslim and migrant citizens are highlighted, treated as archetypal, and cast within Orientalist narratives that underwrite the superiority of European secular modernity. Homophobia is increasingly represented as peripheral to Western European culture (Mepschen 2017). As I see it, we still live in the same historical moment: the notion of sexual nationalism is more relevant than ever. But at the same time, things are changing. Before we get to that, a short overview of what has been discussed in the last fifteen years.

Brokerage and social segregation: a case study of cluster housing environment in Gading Serpong, Indonesia

PurposeThe paper aims is to see why social conflict caused by class segregation did not occur in Gading Serpong? What factors prevent conflict from occurring? This research seeks to find the causes of the nonoccurrence of social conflict due to class segregation in the Gading Serpong cluster area and explore the factors that restrain conflict there.Design/methodology/approachThis research is qualitative research with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews with several parties identified as brokerages in the research object area. In this context, one of the media and analytical tools is to recognize agents or brokers who connect two groups of people. Brokerage occurs in sectors, patterns or forms of informal, personal relationships; to understand it, one must pay close attention to micro-level relationships and social psychological processes. However, brokerage can have a significant impact on macro-level social relations, as it is generally associated with social integration processes.FindingsThe lack of involvement of developers in overcoming social conflicts that occur between Gading Serpong natives and migrants in Gading Serpong housing has given rise to new actors. These new actors are what we can call brokers, where they have a role as brokers who are able to connect between migrants and natives in the Gading Serpong area. The broker phenomenon is actually familiar in academia, where in practice the broker acts as someone who is able to find solutions to problems. The broker is the reason even social segregation is created between migrant citizens and native citizens in Gading Serpong but never becomes a conflict between them.Research limitations/implicationsEven if the brokerage phenomenon is the reason why there is no conflict over social segregation brokerage is not the only factor in this nonconflict segregation. Therefore, to cover the larger area of these suburban segregation problems, there must be further research on this topic.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this research is to encourage the housing developers that create urban housing, such as clusters or other gated communities, to evaluate the social factors, such as potential segregation and conflict management. Also to encourage the developers to get involved and create some social engineering systems, like brokerage, market and other social agents, to create some nonconflict segregation or even more inclusive communities.Originality/valueThis research is uncovering the main reason why social segregation between migrant and native people in Gading Serpong, which could potentially lead to conflict, is never a conflict. The main reason is social actors like brokerage.

Agency, institutions, and welfare chauvinism: Tracing the exclusion of European Union migrant citizens from social assistance in Germany

What explains welfare chauvinistic policy reform, that is, targeted exclusion of non-citizens from welfare? Existing research suggest that contextual factors like far-right party success, perceived immigration pressures, party ideologies and institutions could spur such reform, but the processes behind reforms remain understudied. This article draws on public policy literature to call attention the critical role of agency and institutions in welfare chauvinist reform. It focuses on a law excluding migrant EU citizens from social assistance in Germany. Through process tracing and inductive reconstruction of the policy process, based on political documents, interviews, media reporting and descriptive statistics, we show that the policy proposal originated from German city administrations; that the city of Hamburg was key in pushing for exclusions; and that Hamburg’s success in doing so crucially depended on the city’s mayor. Several comparable German cities (in terms of party politics and levels of immigration) were equally concerned with ‘welfare immigration’ and complained about problem pressure, but only Hamburg had a committed mayor with the right political networks and institutional resources to lobby for welfare exclusions at the federal level.

Blurred boundaries: fantasy citizenship, the worker citizen and mobility controls

ABSTRACT This article uses the lens of state control over mobilities of residents both migrants and citizens to move away from assumptions that position them as competitors for the privileges of membership. I begin by critiquing the migrant/citizen binary, claiming that it promotes as actuality Fantasy Citizenship of equality and accessible rights when the reality is one of banal citizenship. This Fantasy citizen is a Worker Citizen. However, the substance of the ‘right to work' is the right to the welfare safety net and the banal citizen finds access to this safety net restricted by the ‘duty to work'. Taking the example of the UK and specifically, England, I examine how citizens' mobility is restricted and controlled, firstly by social housing allocation policies which effectively turns citizens into ‘migrants’ via worker citizenship, and secondly through the restrictions of COVID-19 including its racialised policing. In this way, I suggest closer attention to state restrictions on the mobilities of citizens can help draw out connections in practice between the citizen and the migrant, connections that are obscured by Fantasy Citizenship and the migrant citizen binary.

The increase in the incidence of syphilis in the Russian Federation: foreign migrant citizens as a risk group for the spread of the disease

Relevance. The incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has a serious impact on the health and lives of children, adolescents and adults. Syphilis, like most STIs, is a socially significant disease, while among the factors influencing the spread of this infection, migration processes, including labor migration, occupy a special place.
 Aims. To study syphilis in foreign migrants in the Russian Federation and individual subjects of the state in recent years.
 Material and methods. A retrospective epidemiological analysis of the incidence of syphilis among the population of the Russian Federation and foreign migrants was performed. The data from Federal Statistical Monitoring Form No. 9 and No. 34 was used with reference to STIs incidence in 2011–2022 in Russia and in its regions.
 Results. Among foreign migrant citizens, the incidence rates were higher than the Russian average: 1.5–2.0 times before 2020, and 4 times in 2021 and 2022. The proportion of registered cases of syphilis among foreign citizens in 2021 was 36.4%, significantly exceeding this figure not only in 2020 (18.2%), but also in previous years (16.7–21.2%). An increase in the number of foreign citizens with syphilis was observed in 2021 in all federal districts of the Russian Federation, while the number of syphilis cases detected in this contingent of people varied significantly between different regions of the Russian Federation. The main share (98.1%) in the structure of syphilis detected in foreign citizens was latent forms of the disease.
 Conclusions. The high level of detection of syphilis in foreign migrant citizens and the predominance of latent forms of the disease in this population represent a potential epidemiological danger of the spread of infection. In connection with the current situation, it seems necessary to develop and implement permanent and controlled algorithms for monitoring STIs in risk groups, including foreign migrant citizens.

The Rekindling of the Clash of Civilizations A Debate on Immigration Policy Standing

Supposedly, migrants migrate to a host nation and would become a member of the host nation as they acquire citizenship or residency in the host nation. There shall be no distinction between migrant citizens and non-migrant citizens in the host nations, as they share the same rights and civil responsibilities. Migrant citizens and non-migrant citizens would blend together into the community and society. However, the reality is that migration becomes a social issue as there are debates between political sides in host nations and conflicts between migrants and non-migrants. In order to explore solutions to migration conflicts, this research aims to analyze Huntingtons Clash of Civilizations theory in an immigration setting to argue why a more thoughtful immigration approach based on the culture of the host and guest is suitable in the current world setting, instead of a liberal approach like Derridas cosmopolitanism, and how to execute a thoughtful immigration approach.

The impact of the institution of EU citizenship on the status of migrant citizens

The subject of the considerations undertaken in the article is the impact of the institution of EU citizenship on the status of migrant citizens. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that the introduction of the institution of EU citizenship into the treaties has definitely strengthened the status of an individual in EU law, and in a special way – in the host country. The inclusion of citizens’ rights in the catalogue of fundamental rights has radically changed the way in which one of the citizens’ rights – freedom of movement and residence in the territory of the host country – is exercised. A migrant citizen has been granted special protection in contexts where actions aimed at restricting the right of residence are taken. These conclusions will be confirmed in this article by analysis of the evolution of secondary legislation and the interpretation of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Modern migration process: new аpproaches in аnalysis

The article discusses research approaches to the analysis of migration, which is becoming one of the most important problems at the regional, national and international levels in the modern world. They also analyze migration processes in modern Kazakhstan. Migration can be viewed as a way of mass reaction of the population to the political, spiritual, socio-economic, and environmental changes taking place in the country. The process of migration affects the countries receiving and sending migrants differently depending on the level of development, migration processes affect the structure of the country and lead to the differentiation of its regions. While the governments of developing countries that send migrants today view their migrant citizens as potential investors and participants in the development process, in developed countries, on the contrary, the negative socio-political consequences of migration have now become apparent. In the article, with the help of a scientific analysis of the works of domestic and foreign authors, a priority approach is determined in the analysis of migration. And also through the analysis of statistical data, the features of migration processes in the territory of Kazakhstan are revealed. The analysis shows that since the beginning of the 21st century, the number of studies of “migration pessimists”, who give a negative assessment of migration and advocate limited migration, has increased. They associate negative consequences with migration, such as a decrease in income among the indigenous population, an increase in unemployment, an increase in social spending, a slowdown in economic growth, an increase in social tension caused by increased cultural differences, a worsening sanitary and epidemiological situation, the threat of terrorism, etc. For these reasons, today migration creates more negative forecasts. The difference between these views lies in the fact that most works written in an optimistic manner are more concerned with the theoretical aspects of the problem and are based on the economic consequences of migration for donor and recipient countries, while “pessimistic” works are based on empirical data and are aimed at more accurate analysis of the socio-economic, political, cultural, demographic, environmental consequences of migration. Key words: migration, internal migration, external migration, limited migration, migrant

Scapegoats and Guinea Pigs: Free Movement as a Pathway to Confined Labour Market Citizenship for European Union Accession Migrants in the UK

Abstract Migrants in the UK from the Central and Eastern European states that acceded to the European Union in 2004 and 2007 often have close proximity to precarity. This contribution illustrates that the positioning of the migrants in the casualised labour market has not occurred by accident but has been brought about by the (disingenuous) way in which nationals of the accession states were permitted access to the UK labour market. The positioning has been further maintained through the increasingly restrictive direction of the intertwined EU-UK response to claims for support from vulnerable EU migrant citizens. This piece presents the idea of ‘confined labour market citizenship’ as a way to understand the way many migrants have experienced working and living in the UK in the years following EU enlargement. This concept, it is argued, is able to capture: the role of the UK state as it regulated post-accession migration rules and implemented laws relating to social security entitlement; the influence of the broader EU framework on free movement and citizenship of the Union; and the impact of employers ‘on the ground’ in creating and exacerbating conditions of precarity and exploitation. The analysis throughout the paper exposes how EU8 and EU2 migrants have served as scapegoats for the result of the Brexit referendum, deflecting attention from the instrumentalisation of the migration issue by politicians. They have also been guinea pigs, testing out a confined version of EU citizenship with less tolerance for those in precarious and insecure work.

Welfare Mediators as Game Changers? Deconstructing Power Asymmetries Between EU Migrants and Welfare Administrators

Under EU law, EU citizens constitute a particular group of immigrants, as they can, mostly without restrictions, move to, and reside in, another EU country, enjoying equal treatment with nationals in terms of accessing employment and social rights. However, as this article demonstrates, the settlement of EU citizens in another member state does not happen without hurdles. Through a careful in‐depth study of access to transnational welfare rights in practice, we analyse knowledge and resulting power asymmetries impacting interactions between certain EU migrant claimants and street‐level bureaucrats in Austrian and German social administrations. Following an inductive approach, based on an extensive data set of 144 qualitative interviews, this article first unpacks the different types of knowledge asymmetries relating to administrative procedures, formal social entitlements and the German language. We then analyse how such knowledge asymmetries may open space for welfare mediation in order to compensate for a lack of German language skills and to clarify misunderstandings about legal entitlements and obligations embedded in the claims system. Finally, our contribution offers a typology of welfare mediators and their characteristics, as not all types can be regarded as equally effective in reshaping power asymmetries. Overall, this article allows for insights into how welfare mediators, as more or less institutionalised opportunity structures, can shift policy outcomes in unexpected ways, enabling access to social benefits and services for otherwise excluded EU migrant citizens working, or seeking to work, in another EU member state.

The production of counter-space: Informal labour, social networks and the production of urban space in Dhaka

Access to public space for earning livelihoods is important for street vendors in global south cities. However, due to continuous population growth and the demand for lands by the real estate development sector, pressure on land is very high in the global south. Consequently, global south cities such as Dhaka provide ‘no place’ for its poor migrant citizens. Yet, the urban poor are able to appropriate public space for livelihoods. Drawing on a case study of Sattola slum in Dhaka, this article investigates how the urban poor access to public space for livelihoods and construct counter-spaces by breaking the planned order of the city. This article argues that the urban poor are able to construct counter-spaces with the tacit support of translocal social networks as well as with the support of a range of state and non-state powerful actors who are compromised by the benefits and profits they extract from vendors. This article draws on qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with 94 informal workers and 37 key informants. This article contributes to urban sociology literature demonstrating that the urban poor are able to construct counter-spaces drawing on a range of everyday tactics and appropriating public space by quietly breaking the planned order of the city.

Welfare Mediators as Game Changers? Deconstructing Power Asymmetries Between EU Migrants and Welfare Administrators

Under EU law, EU citizens constitute a particular group of immigrants, as they can, mostly without restrictions, move to, and reside in, another EU country, enjoying equal treatment with nationals in terms of accessing employment and social rights. However, as this article demonstrates, the settlement of EU citizens in another member state does not happen without hurdles. Through a careful in‐depth study of access to transnational welfare rights in practice, we analyse knowledge and resulting power asymmetries impacting interactions between certain EU migrant claimants and street‐level bureaucrats in Austrian and German social administrations. Following an inductive approach, based on an extensive data set of 144 qualitative interviews, this article first unpacks the different types of knowledge asymmetries relating to administrative procedures, formal social entitlements and the German language. We then analyse how such knowledge asymmetries may open space for welfare mediation in order to compensate for a lack of German language skills and to clarify misunderstandings about legal entitlements and obligations embedded in the claims system. Finally, our contribution offers a typology of welfare mediators and their characteristics, as not all types can be regarded as equally effective in reshaping power asymmetries. Overall, this article allows for insights into how welfare mediators, as more or less institutionalised opportunity structures, can shift policy outcomes in unexpected ways, enabling access to social benefits and services for otherwise excluded EU migrant citizens working, or seeking to work, in another EU member state.

Shifting Ground: Art and Design Action for the Engagement and Empowerment of Migrant Citizens

Shifting Ground: Art and Design Action for the Engagement and Empowerment of Migrant Citizens

Indagare le recenti migrazioni trans-mediterranee. Metodi e fonti di ricerca a partire dal contesto dell’accoglienza in Sardegna

Understanding the migration phenomenon requires an in-depth analysis of different kind of sources, oral testimonies, and multiple perspectives. The research has focused on international trans-mediterranean migrations in Sardinia, on the organisation and the perception of the reception system and its consequences on the relation between migrant citizens and local communities. The paper shows the different methodological approaches used during the research to analyse the logistic and administration of the reception system and their implications on the territory in its complex aspects.

Better communication with migrant communities during COVID-19 pandemic:a portuguese experience

Abstract Odemira, in the southeast litoral of Portugal, has 33% of migrant citizens, mostly from Southeast Asia, going up to 50% counting transient citizens. Most of them do not speak English, making communication with health services difficult. They tend to live in overcrowded houses with unsanitary conditions. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the above resulted in high incidence and ineffective contact tracing (CT), testing and isolation by the public health teams. It was essential to develop strategies to manage and control outbreaks, and also to achieve health equity. Our experience can be useful for other countries in dealing with their multicultural communities. This intervention started in march 2020 and is still ongoing. The aims were to improve the accuracy of epidemiological surveys (ES) and CT, to more easily stop transmission, to develop the communication skills of health professionals and to improve migrant's healthcare access. For this, the focus was on digital written communication tools (Whatsapp, translation apps). It was created a toolkit to guide ES and CT tailored to the migrant population, with tips and best practices, and used translated information materials about preventive COVID-19 measures. Workshops were led with health professionals. It was stablished work with local NGOs, creating social media campaigns during crucial events (Holi holliday). As results. it was achieved a better ES output, more accurate CT and better transmission control, with noticeable differences between march 2020 and now. The relationship with this community improved, having better access to services and their needs met. Health professionals reported being more at ease dealing with these patients. Our experience shows it's possible to communicate effectively despite language and cultural barriers, that cultural knowledge is important in advancing public health goals and that multidisciplinary and intersectoral work is essential to effective interventions. Key messages This intervention allowed us to achieve a better output of epidemiological surveys, more accurate contact tracing and were more effective in breaking transmission chains and controlling outbreaks. It was achieved a better understanding and relationship with this community, with better ability to respond to their needs and promoting their access to healthcare.

Legal Regulation of Migration Processes in The Context of Eurasian Integration and The Covid-19 Pandemic

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter – the EAEU) was aimed at increasing the economic competitiveness of the countries that joined this international association, which, in turn, should improve the living standards of the population of the member states. The active development of integrationprocesses in these countries required making appropriate changes to national legislation in order to form a homogeneous legal field and enrich their domestic law with international experience in legal regulation, including the regulation of migration processes, since integration is always accompanied by migration processes. The purpose of this article is to study and analyze the problems of legal regulation of migration processes taking place in the EAEU countries. The article deals with the problems of legal regulation of migration processes in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The article analyzes the normative provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU that regulate migration processes on the territory of the EAEU, serve as a legal basis for solving issues of labor migration, and increase the labor status of migrants-citizens of the states that are members of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is emphasized, that the provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU establish the status of migrant citizens from the EAEU countries temporarily working on the territory of one of the member states, regulate their relations with the employer and establish at the legislative level equal rights of migrant workers with citizens of the recipient country, including the social sphere, with the exception of pension provision. Some advantages are established for migrants from the EAEU member states: it is provided not only to protect the interests of the states, but also the rights and freedoms of migrant workers and members of their families who arrived from the EAEU member States, to create favorable conditions for their life in the country that accepted them, including for performing work activities, contributing to successful integration into the social system of the country. Attention is focused on the problems associated with the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU, due to the significant differences between the partner states related to the level and models of economic development. It is noted that in the scientific legal literature and legislation of the EAEU countries, there are different approaches to the interpretation of the concept of “population migration”, representatives of which take as a basis certain signs of this complex socio-economic phenomenon, considering it from different sides. It is concluded that it is necessary to develop a unified approach to the legal regulation of migration processes on the territory of the EAEU and the formation of a common labor market. Proposals aimed at improving migration legislation were made: to unify the acquired social and legal status of migrants in the receiving country; to systematize and harmonize the migration legislation of the EAEU member states; to coordinate with the EAEU partners the government decisions taken in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus infection affecting migration processes, and others. A proposal was put forward on the need to develop and adopt a codified normative act – the Migration Code of the EAEU, which, according to the author, would eliminate the existing contradictions between the provisions on migration in the Treaty on the EAEU and the national migration legislation of the member states; unify the system of migration legislation within the framework of an integration international association, bringing it into line with international law.

Access to healthcare services for the Roma and undocumented migrants in the EU in light of the Covid-19 pandemic

Background. The rising number of the EU Roma citizens from the CEE countries, non-EU Roma citizens from the Western-Balkans, and of undocumented migrants in the European Union makes it interesting to see that most of them face barriers when accessing health services [with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)] or have no health coverage at all [no legal entitlement]. European migrant health policies are seemingly well structured and responsive to the needs of migrants, however, results of recent studies raise the question whether the legislations are responsive enough to the needs of the Roma and undocumented migrants when accessing health services. Given the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic these groups are now at an increased risk and they might not be able to understand how the virus transmits and how they can protect themselves from it. Methods. Literature review focusing on the access to health services and migrant health policies in the EU and the UK was carried out. The target groups of this research were Roma citizens and third-country national undocumented migrants residing in the European Union. Results. In theory the legal entitlement for accessing healthcare for migrants in general is satisfactory, while in practice these groups face difficulties, such as prejudice, discrimination and other barriers (language, logistical) when approaching health services. Migrants lack trust in the health system and the healthcare professionals, and are not aware of their fundamental rights to healthcare either. Conclusions. Legal entitlements for EU migrant citizens do not differ within EU countries but they significantly vary for undocumented migrants Europe-wide and there seems to be a mismatch between the legal entitlements for undocumented migrants in theory and their implementation in practice. Given the circumstances of the pandemic these groups are at an increased risk and therefore their health inclusion through health literacy programs should take place, as well as health workers should be trained on diversity in order to establish diversity adapted EU health systems. Seeking adaptive practices to establish cultural diversity within the healthcare settings, and introducing the universal health coverage scheme Europe-wide in order for undocumented migrants and EU citizens without employment to benefit from proper healthcare services is encouraged and necessary.

The Self-employed and the EU Court of Justice: towards new social protection of vulnerable EU citizens?

European citizens have been exposed to social exclusion risks due to the economic crisis and the retrenchment in the welfare state budget. Among those exposed, we find workers and self-employed workers. The Member States of Central and Northern Europe have tried to restrict the free movement of workers and the self-employed and limit access to social benefits for European citizens from Eastern Europe. On the other hand, the European institutions have tried to save the notion of the European citizen as the promoter of the integration process. Recently, the Court of Justice seems to have reprised the role of bulwark against the social exclusion of migrant European citizens in the host Member State. Adding to Florea Gusa and Tarola, the Dakneviciute case law confirms the new interpretative trend of the Court of Justice towards greater protection of the migrant self-employed worker who needs to access the welfare of the host Member State in a period of vulnerability. The recommendation is that this course continues, allowing us to overcome the restrictive jurisprudence developed in the Dano trend.

Young EU migrant citizens’ access to financial independence in conditions of precarious work: A tripartite approach to welfare conditionality

Young EU citizens are encouraged to enhance their ‘employability’ by taking advantage of intra-EU mobility, but, for many, moving to another EU country can instead generate disadvantages in the labour market. Drawing on a qualitative study on the experiences of university-educated young Nordics and southern Europeans working in precarious jobs in Brussels, we examine how their access to income support in the context of mobility shapes their access to financial independence. We argue that the variation in European welfare models regarding young peoples’ social entitlements impacts this access in multiple and complex ways. The article advances a tripartite approach that looks at the regulation and enforcement of conditionality of social entitlements on the levels of EU, their country of origin and their country of destination. The analysis shows how, in Belgium, precarious EU migrant citizens are denied access to income support due to the interplay between general welfare conditionality for all claimants and recently reinforced conditionality affecting EU migrant citizens in particular. In these situations, the de-familialising Nordic welfare models showed an aptitude for shielding their young citizens. The young southern Europeans, on the other hand, often had no access to income support in any country, which forced them to choose between family dependency and unfiltered exposure to precarity.