CONF : Seminar « Migration Politics across the World » — Friday 7th october 2022, 15h30-17h, online

Presen­ta­tion

This webinar takes stock of exis­ting research on the poli­tics of migra­tion, inclu­ding its gaps and biases, and intro­duces new avenues for empi­ri­cally grounded theory-buil­ding. We draw upon the rich collec­tion of empi­rical cases assem­bled in a recently publi­shed volume – Argen­tina, Tunisia, Japan and South Korea, the United States and Australia, the Philip­pines, China, and Saudi Arabia- to show­case the imbri­ca­tion of migra­tion poli­tics with broader dyna­mics of regime change, state forma­tion and nation-state ideo­logy. The research also dissects the role of civil society, legal actors, employers, and inter­na­tional norms across demo­cratic and un-demo­cratic contexts. Our research reveals unex­pected simi­la­ri­ties in migra­tion poli­cies in different poli­tical regimes at a time when states across the globe are increa­singly adop­ting illi­beral prac­tices and poli­cies. Ulti­ma­tely, we collec­ti­vely found that, beyond contex­tual varia­tions, migra­tion poli­tics offers an ideal vantage point for unders­tan­ding state trans­for­ma­tions and poli­tical changes around the world.

We are dedi­ca­ting this webinar to the memory of Stephen Castles whose work inspired the editors’ project.

Intro­duc­tion

Theo­ri­sing migra­tion poli­tics : do poli­tical regimes matter ?
Katha­rina Natter & Hélène Thiollet guest editors of the special issue « Migra­tion Poli­tics across the World » for Third World Quar­terly, Volume 43, Issue 7 (2022)

Parti­ci­pants

Susanne Melde & Luisa Feline Freier Univer­sidad del Paci­fico – “When the stars aligned : idea­tional stra­tegic alliances and the critical junc­ture of Argentina’s 2004 Migra­tion Law”

Katha­rina Natter, Univer­sity of Leiden – Tunisia’s migra­tion poli­tics throu­ghout the 2011 revo­lu­tion : revi­si­ting the democratisation–migrant rights nexus

David Scott Fitz­Ge­rald, UC San Diego & Asher Hirsch Monash Univer­sity – Norm-busting : righ­tist chal­lenges in US and Austra­lian immi­gra­tion and refugee policies

Hélène Thiollet, CNRS CERI Sciences Po – Migrants and monarchs : regime survival, state trans­for­ma­tion and migra­tion poli­tics in Saudi Arabia

Refe­rence page

Regis­tra­tions