Constructing Roma Migrants. European Narratives and Local Governance (original) (raw)
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Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2018
The paper examines the ways and processes of creating exceptions to the enforcement of human rights law in the case of the Eastern European Roma migrants within the European Union. It uses as case study the 2010 campaign of Roma migrants' evictions and repatriations from France, and the related events that followed over a period of six years. The analysis of the discourses of French and European Union officials in relation to the evictions and repatriations highlights the relationships between the discursive construction of unwanted categories of migrants, and migration policy making by national governments and at a European Union level. The main argument is that these evictions and repatriations were primarily a fundamental rights issue due to the discriminatory dimension it was given by those proposing and applying it. However, the issue of discrimination became secondary in the debates which rather focused on the exceptional nature of the Roma and framed this population as an exception from human rights law enforcement. Concomitantly, the discourses made a shift from protection against discrimination to the issue of integration. The analysis examines the implications this shift had on diminishing the responsibility of national and EU authorities for protection against discrimination. Keywords Eastern European migrants. Roma. Expulsions. Discrimination Highly controversial measures such as expulsions as well as borderline legal measures in curbing Westward migration of Roma ethnics have been documented throughout Europe (Bigo et al. 2013; Tervonen and Enache 2017) before and after the accession of Eastern European member states. Some scholars name these measures an attempt to
2013
This report offers a synthetic description of the political-ideological contexts vis-à-vis Roma migration in both countries of origin (Bulgaria and Romania) and destination (Italy, Spain and Austria), as well as a critical analysis of the policies targeted to this population in the countries of the consortium. Each national chapter is divided in almost two sections. The first one aims at introducing the reader to the issue of Roma migration, also offering data and references to the most important national literature on this topic. The second section focusses on the National Roma Integration Strategies and, when applicable, also on the diverse incorporation of Roma migrants in these legislative frameworks. In the chapter on Romania, the description of the political and ideological context is accompanied by an analysis of the representation of the Roma in the Romanian media, which seem to shape the relationship with the European Union. The Spanish chapter includes some results of an inedited study on the ‘Roma migrants’ in the Comprehensive Plan for Roma People in Catalonia, realized in collaboration with the EMIGRA Research Group, one of the REdHNET associate partners.
INTERSECTIONS. EAST EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIETY AND POLITICS, 2018
During the last 20 years, processes of social, spatial or economic exclusion suffered by a growing number of people identified as Roma in Europe were progressively investigated and better documented, as, for instance, legal (or para-legal) measures implemented against Roma migrants living in precarious settlements in Western Europe. Over the same period, international or European institutions, national authorities and many NGOs significantly developed local or regional initiatives for Roma inclusion. From ethnographic investigations conducted during several years in two French cities which have implemented social support and housing projects toward Roma immigrants families (Bulgarian in one case, Romanian in the other), this article firstly aims to highlight the effects of the contradictions and paradoxes characterizing the launch and running of many inclusion policies which, like exclusion policies, are frequently based on stereotypical conceptions of Roma as well as of social integration. Reversing the point of view, we will secondly light the way the target families of these projects may nevertheless succeed to preserve leeway and to develop different forms of local insertion, using (or not) resources provided by public policies as well as personal and family resources. In so doing, this paper proposes to address the role and value of informality and productive misunderstandings in these dynamics of emancipation and effective integration taking place in a strongly binding context.
Royal Institute Of International Affairs - European Briefing, 2002
Since the collapse of communism, 'the Roma' have become a subject of increasing political interest and significance. The most visible effect in the UK and other EU member states has been the migration of thousands of east European Roma, many of whom have claimed political asylum. This phenomenon is a symptom of a deepening malaise in a number of post-communist states where the circumstances of Roma minorities represent one of the most difficult problems arising from the 'transition' process. The internationalization of the 'Roma question' means that European institutions, in particular the EU, have a vital role to play in preventing further disintegration and ethnic fragmentation in the region and averting the social conflict, political instability and economic stagnation that may otherwise ensue. However, identifying this role and effectively engaging with the Roma issue is no easy task. Policy-makers need to take into account the complex interplay of a wide variety of factors that determine the contemporary situation. In addition, for historical and cultural reasons, there is a profound gulf between perception and reality in respect of people about whom more is believed than is actually known. As a political discourse on the Roma increasingly develops, the problem of knowledge contributes to, and is compounded by, a notable lack of political accountability. This paper provides an introduction to the main aspects of the politicization of 'Roma' people and their circumstances , in the hope of stimulating a wider and better informed debate as the issue rises up the agendas of national and international institutions in the years to come. 'Roma' identity and the idea of 'Europe'
Un/Free mobility: Roma migrants in the European Union (2017)
This special issue showcases work that theorises and critiques the political, economic, legal, and socio-historical (‘ethnic’ or ‘cultural’) subordination of the European Roma (so-called ‘Gypsies’), from the specific critical vantage point of Roma migrants living and working within and across the space of the European Union (EU). Enabled primarily through ethnographic research with diverse Roma communities across the heterogeneous geography of ‘Europe’, the contributions to this collection are likewise concerned with the larger politics of mobility as a constitutive feature of the sociopolitical formation of the EU. Foregrounding the experiences and perspectives of Roma living and working outside of their nation-states of ‘origin’ or ostensible citizenship, we seek to elucidate wider inequalities and hierarchies at stake in the ongoing (re-)racialisation of Roma migrants, in particular, and imposed upon migrants, generally. Thus, this special issue situates Roma mobility as a critical vantage point for migration studies in Europe. Furthermore, this volume shifts the focus conventionally directed at the academic objectification of ‘the Roma’ as such, and instead seeks to foreground and underscore questions about ‘Europe’, ‘European’-ness, and EU-ropean citizenship that come into sharper focus through the critical lens of Roma racialisation, marginalisation, securitisation, and criminalisation, and the dynamics of Roma mobility within and across the space of ‘Europe’. In this way, this collection contributes new research and expands critical interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersections of Romani studies, ethnic and racial studies, migration studies, political and urban geography, social anthropology, development studies, postcolonial studies, and European studies.
In this lecture, given in April 2015 at Duke University, I argue that, in order to adequately understand the contemporary situation of Roma in Europe, we need to move beyond the currently dominant methodological Eurocentrism. In the context of Roma-related scholarship, ‘methodological Eurocentrism’ refers to analyses of the Roma’s societal position that do not sufficiently take into account how representations of both Europe and the Roma have significantly and interdependently changed since the collapse of socialism. Since the fall of communism, we have been able to observe what I call the ‘Europeanization of the representation of the Roma’, that is, firstly, the post-1989 problematization of the Roma in terms of their Europeanness and European identity; secondly, the classification of heterogeneous groups scattered over Europe under the umbrella term Roma and, thirdly, the devising of Europe-wide developmental programs that are dedicated to their inclusion, integration, anti-discrimination, empowerment and participation. I will clarify how we can understand the Europeanization of Roma representation as the latest stage of the various ways in which those who are currently called, or call themselves, Roma have historically interacted with Europe. I argue that, since 1989, a shift has taken place from considering the Roma as the Orientalized and externalized outsiders against which Europe has defined itself to considering them as the internalized outsiders to be incorporated in Europe as productive, participating and ‘true Europeans’. This shift has enabled the Roma to become actively involved in the political and policy debates about their representation, in attempts at improving their situation, and in the deepening and widening of the heterogeneous Romani movement. Yet, I will explain why this shift is fundamentally ambiguous. It has contributed to problematizing the Roma in ambiguous ways at the present-day nexus of security, citizenship and development. I will show how a threefold redirecting of Roma-related scholarship will help to critically reflect upon these problematizations beyond currently dominant Eurocentric and Roma-centric parameters.
A Roma European crisis road-map: a holistic answer to a complex problem
(2019) ‘A Roma European crisis road-map: A holistic answer to a complex probConstructing Roma Migrants: European Narratives and Local Governance, 2019
This contribution explores the adequacy of EU action with regard to Roma minorities. The expulsion of large numbers of Roma individuals, accompanied by other discriminatory practices and forms of hostility, exclusion and violence against the Roma across Europe, has brought the attention of the media and policy makers to Roma issues to a greater extent than ever before during the last decade. The range of problems still afflicting the lives of many Roma nowadays is extremely wide, well researched and profusely documented. This contribution leaves aside issues related to free movement and EU citizenship, thus moving the debate beyond the narrow framework of the ‘migrant Roma’. The contribution considers the wide range of relevant EU competences in this field, and assesses how comprehensive and appropriate the EU’s approach to Roma issues is. The analysis combines legal instruments, policy papers, and case law, draws from legal and non-legal literature, and integrates considerations of social, economic and cultural nature. In the process, this contribution considers themes that cut across several strands of the EU’s Roma policy, including fundamental rights, intercultural sensitivity, the limits of the ‘integration model’, and issues of enforcement, monitoring and funding. The logical narrative developed puts together the key jigsaw pieces that currently contribute to a EU Roma policy, and clearly identifies the limitations of the current state of affairs. Finally, this contribution interrogates the trends underlying the development of the EU Roma policy and puts forward a range of recommendations.
Constructing Roma Migrants. European Narratives and Global Governance / edited by Tina Magazzini and Stefano Piemontese. Cham: Springer, IMISCOE Research Series, pp. 51-67, 2019
Roma populations have been part of European societies for centuries, yet they started to be perceived as a European “issue” in occasion of the 2004 and 2007 EU enlargement. In Eastern Europe several Roma, already struggling to cope with critical living conditions, fell into an ever-more negative spiral of deprivation as a result of the transition to an open market economy. The accession to the European Union eased internal migration of Roma from Central and Eastern Europe and triggered the emergence of problems associated with service provision of shelter, education and health. Meanwhile, those who found themselves in severe marginalized situations and could not afford to migrate began to be regarded as a “problem” for local authorities. The European Union has taken several soft policy actions to establish a framework for Roma integration, and has conditioned the use of structural funds to said strategies. The difficulty of implementing the National Roma Integration Strategy and of investing integration funds at the local level is however heavily affected by the lack of administrative capacity, political will, and practical obstacles. This chapter describes the EU efforts made in this field, focusing on the need to involve the local level through the concrete case of the ROMACT programme.
Un/Free mobility: Roma migrants in the European Union
Social Identities, 2017
This special issue showcases work that theorises and critiques the political, economic, legal, and socio-historical ('ethnic' or 'cultural') subordination of the European Roma (so-called 'Gypsies'), from the specific critical vantage point of Roma migrants living and working within and across the space of the European Union (EU). Enabled primarily through ethnographic research with diverse Roma communities across the heterogeneous geography of 'Europe', the contributions to this collection are likewise concerned with the larger politics of mobility as a constitutive feature of the sociopolitical formation of the EU. Foregrounding the experiences and perspectives of Roma living and working outside of their nation-states of 'origin' or ostensible citizenship, we seek to elucidate wider inequalities and hierarchies at stake in the ongoing (re-)racialisation of Roma migrants, in particular, and imposed upon migrants, generally. Thus, this special issue situates Roma mobility as a critical vantage point for migration studies in Europe. Furthermore, this volume shifts the focus conventionally directed at the academic objectification of 'the Roma' as such, and instead seeks to foreground and underscore questions about 'Europe', 'European'-ness, and EU-ropean citizenship that come into sharper focus through the critical lens of Roma racialisation, marginalisation, securitisation, and criminalisation, and the dynamics of Roma mobility within and across the space of 'Europe'. In this way, this collection contributes new research and expands critical interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersections of Romani studies, ethnic and racial studies, migration studies, political and urban geography, social anthropology, development studies, postcolonial studies, and European studies.