Views and Viewpoints
The Rwanda Directive: Moral Panics and UK Asylum Policy View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dawn Bolger
This paper examines the UK government's Rwanda Asylum Partnership Agreement as a case study of moral panics influencing migration policy. It critiques the framing of migrants as national threats, examining the implications of such narratives on the government's decision to offshore asylum processing to Rwanda. The plan, which controversially targets individuals arriving via irregular routes, notably small boat crossings, reflects a broader strategy to deter migrant arrivals by delegating responsibilities to a third country. This paper explores the construction of migrants as societal 'folk devils', scapegoats in politically engineered crises, through critical discourse analysis of media and political rhetoric. It questions the ethical and legal ramifications of the UK's Rwanda strategy, arguing that it amplifies xenophobic sentiments and violates international refugee conventions. By applying theories of 'othering' and securitisation, this study deconstructs the calculated use of moral panics as a vehicle for radical policy shifts. It dissects the narratives that underpin the Rwanda plan and provides insights into the intersection of moral panic and immigration.
Migration, Pantheonization, Globalization: The Case of Josephine Baker
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sabine Loucif
France’s most prestigious memorial institution, The Pantheon, has opened its doors to great men and women at a frequency higher than usual under President Macron. While other presidents have left their mark through the museums and monuments built during their presidency, Emmanuel Macron has dedicated himself to the building/re-building of the image of the French Republic by offering the Pantheon as a resting place to Simone Veil, Josephine Baker and more recently, Missak Manouchian. While Macron’s speeches during the ceremonies at the Pantheon are targeting citizens of France, they are also aiming to build/ restore the image of France for the global world. As a specialist of literature and sociology of culture, I study the speech delivered by Macron for the Pantheonization of Josephine Baker, who “migrated” to France from the United States, in an attempt to identify its various targeted audiences, within France and globally.
Inequalities in Democratic Practices: Migrants’ Right to Speak during Policy Labs Meetings View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Antonella Capalbi
Multistakeholder Policy Labs are initiatives promoted by the European Parliament to improve citizens’ participation in the elaboration of policies on specific themes, through the collaboration of citizens, stakeholders, and decision-makers, within plenaries and small groups discussions, coordinated by at least two facilitators. This paper concerns a European project in which Policy Labs were set up in six cities with the aim of supporting migrants' participation in the development of new local policies; this addresses the need to create conditions for active citizenship in migratory contexts, within the framework of global migration flows. Specifically, the study concerns the Policy Labs held in Modena (Italy) and shows both effective and ineffective ways of facilitating migrants’ contributions, voices, and exercise of agency. It is based on (1) the video-recordings of these meetings, in which the different social actors interlaced their narratives, and (2) the participants’ narratives on these meetings produced during interviews and a focus group. The video recordings show that several migrants were active in participating and producing narratives despite language barriers, due to their interest in telling stories about their specific condition as migrants; on the other hand, local stakeholders tried to be helpful in defining problems and proposals, but they amplified the barriers to migrants’ participation, producing long personal narratives or speaking in the place of migrants. These aspects also emerge from the interviews and the focus group: participants state that, despite the role of facilitators, the migrants’ participation was hindered by the contribution of the stakeholders and their epistemic authority.
