Immigrant Activism and the Role of Left-Wing Allies in Exclusion (original) (raw)

This paper focuses on the role of left-wing organizations (political parties, trade unions, and social movements) in promoting political participation Italy and examines the competing discourses of inclusion by immigrant activists interacting with these political actors. I ask two research questions: How do immigrants perceive and act upon the opportunities of participation offered to them by their left-wing allies? How their discourses and practices challenge left-wing actors’ dominant approach to integration? Based on the selection of eight in-depth interviews with migrant activists and other first-hand documentary sources collected during a fieldwork I did in Italy in 14 months between 2013 and 2014, the paper examines how immigrant activists are interacting with their left-wing allies through the lenses of immigrants’ perceptions and actions. I identify major barriers to participation and the responses immigrant activists offer to react to them. Overall the paper offers new insight of the presence of immigrant activists as relevant actors in the Italian political landscape and shows how they are challenging left-wing actors’ claims of inclusiveness and of promoters of a progressive, multicultural image of Italy. Keywords: Left-wing allies; immigrants’ political participation; barriers to participation; Italy.