El Departamento de Ciencia Política y Estudios Internacionales de la Universidad Torcuato di Tella junto con el International Migration Research Network desean invitarle al Migration, Citizenship and Political Participation Standing Committee (MIGCITPOL) Workshop "Governing Migrant Citizenship Rights in Times of Protracted Crises".

This year we engaged with the timely topic of protracted migration crises. Our discussion will focus on these questions: How do institutional actors´ course of action, legal/regulatory frameworks, and migration policies and institutions at various levels of governance (e.g., local, national, regional) change or adapt as crises unfold and persist over time, and with what implications for migrants´ political rigths? How do we best conceptualize these changes and theorize about the short- and long-term implications?

The program includes both empirical and theoretical original contributions. They take note that migration crises are generally characterized as the outcome of sudden developments which evoke some sort of threat, risk, and need for response --a temporal problem that eventually fades. As such, they disrupt the status quo and may bring serious policy re-framing and institutional changes. However, from the Syrian refugee crisis to the massive emigration of Venezuelans to the closing of borders and other restrictions during the pandemic or the proliferation of ´environmental´ migrants, we observe not only the disruption of existing orders and implementation of ad-hoc responses, but also slow on-set emergencies and the transformation of urgent measures into new forms of migration governance which keeps referring to crisis and often compromises the access to rights. In other words, crises are not necessarily resolved but reframed; stability is not always restored after crisis; crises may enable the curtailing of certain rights and prompt contestation. As a result, in today’s turbulent contexts, crisis adds a dose of contingency to the evolution of migrant political rights which, far from following a linear path, has taken an intricate itinerary that includes both advances and setbacks. While diverse factors have contributed to the expansion and institutionalization of such rights in the last few decades (e.g., democratization, enfranchisement, virtual spaces, ethnic lobbying, diaspora engagement policies, etc.), there are still gaps in the regulation, implementation, and access, compounded by the on-and-off switching of the exercise of rights at critical junctures and contexts (e.g., autocratic regimes, illiberal democracies) in which displacements seem to overwhelm expectations and/or response capacities and migrant activism is not welcome. Although some of these developments have been studied, the persistently high politico-economic volatility that has lately disrupted social orders worldwide makes these issues more relevant than ever and invites further investigation. This collaborative project highlights that the perpetuation of a crisis beyond the tipping point and the normalization of the crisis narrative are intertwined with social polarization and contestation over inclusion of disadvantaged groups in socio-political and economic systems, including migrants. It also underscores that migrants are categorized in multiple statuses (voluntary/forced migrants, refugee/asylum seekers, temporary/permanent residents, etc.) which share a common element of precariousness. These statuses reflect in different levels of institutionalization, and access to the exercise, of political rights. As said, crises in general offer an opportunity to redefine the opportunity structure of political actors. Yet, what specific (political and policy) processes are likely to develop when formal statuses are precarious, rights are limited, and crisis persists? Increasing state intervention and restrictive policies perhaps? Reduced or enhanced international cooperation? Diversification of public-private transnational partnerships? A new normative consensus? A realignment of political coalitions? The emergence of new constituencies and forms of migrant activism? In sum, we explore to what extent, and how, protracted crises impinge on the dynamics and factors shaping the institutionalization and exercise of migrant political rights, namely state regulation, legal frameworks, regional accords, international organizations´ interventions, migration and related public policies, political parties´ and migrant associations´ campaigns, etc.

Ver el programa del 2023 MIGCITPOL Workshop aquí.

El evento se desarrollará de forma presencial en el Campus Di Tella y de forma virtual a través de la plataforma Zoom. El día del evento se enviará el link de acceso a los/las inscriptos/as. Las presentaciones serán en inglés, sin traducción.