Reminder
13th IMISCOE Annual Conference, 30 June – 2 July, Prague
http://imiscoe.org/what-imiscoe-does/events/508-13th-imiscoe-annual-conference-prague-june-30-july-2-2016
Panel proposal
Panel title: “Inclusive and exclusive policies for the migrant population. Tackling the specificity of small-medium towns.
Session chairs:
Michela Semprebon (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociologia, Università di Bologna)
Roberta Marzorati (Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca)
Paola Bonizzoni (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche, Università degli Studi di Milano)
The importance of the local dimension in the process of inclusion of the migrant population is widely acknowledged both in the public debate and in the academic literature. It is at the local level that pragmatic efforts of both public and private institutions to promote social inclusion and forms of active citizenship (as well as migrants’ access to local services) can be observed. It is always at the local level that the governance of migration can become an issue of contention and of xenophobic reactions that can lead to excluding policies and practices (aimed at restricting access to social rights and services), even in contrast with national and international legislation on the matter. However, so far academic research has mainly privileged metropolitan and large urban centres for the analyses of such processes and little material is available on smaller and more peripheral urban contexts. The challenges posed by forms of migration governance taking place at a local level beyond metropolitan and large cities is thus acquiring increasing social and political relevance. Due to the limited literature available on this topic, this session aims to gather scholars who have investigated processes taking place in these specific contexts addressing the tensions between inclusion and exclusion. What kind of responses and resources are small-medium sized towns capable of bringing into play? To what extent are these efforts understandable in light of specific political-administrative features (i.e. local political cultures, accessibility of local administrators and service providers, level of social control, shape of multi-level local networks, etc.)? The focus of our session will be on multi-level governance processes: horizontal and vertical dynamics among public, private and third sector, at various territorial and administrative levels – municipal, provincial, district, regional, national. Within this framework we will look at local policies and practices highlighting tensions between the local-national-sovra-national level, with respect to inclusionary and exclusionary practices and their ambivalent characteristics, including in particular (but not exclusively) the following: policies and initiatives in support of irregular migrants, municipal ordinances and restrictive practices in the access to residency permits and in the provision of local welfare services to EU and/or non EU migrants, asylum seekers’ dispersal and reception policies. The session will welcome contributions on one or more policy fields (housing, employment, social services, religious and cultural activities, regulation of the public space, etc.) targeting the migrant population in more or less specific ways. Overall, the session is intended as an opportunity to reflect on the resources small-medium sized towns can count upon to address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals and settlement at a time of economic crisis, in order to identify strengths and weaknesses as well as critical issues in terms of policy planning and implementation. We welcome contributions from all disciplines (sociology, political science, urban planning, economy, legal studies, etc.). Papers proposing a comparison between two or more EU countries will be most appreciated.
The opening speech “The local dimension of migration policy-making: challenges and specificities of small-medium sized towns” will be given by Tiziana Caponio, Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Università degli Studi di Torino.
The deadline for receipt of abstract (of 250 words) is January 25th 2016. Please send them to:Michela Semprebon, Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociologia, Università di Bologna,[log in to unmask] Do not hesitate to contact us for any further question.
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