In this dissertation, I draw on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork with Egyptians in Amsterdam to study how the nationalization of our imagination and social-legal and material infrastructures... Show moreIn this dissertation, I draw on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork with Egyptians in Amsterdam to study how the nationalization of our imagination and social-legal and material infrastructures mediates social life. I describe how, just like the group of people categorized as Egyptian in Amsterdam is diverse, the Dutch state is too, consisting of a a range of images, laws, organizations, and people that embody them. I argue that this Dutch state multiple structures almost all aspects of life, but ultimately cannot define who we are, or what we do. Show less
This dissertation examines the educational positions of children of immigrants in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2020. In particular, the influence of migration background and socioeconomic factors... Show moreThis dissertation examines the educational positions of children of immigrants in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2020. In particular, the influence of migration background and socioeconomic factors on educational positions is studied. Findings reveal substantial progress in education for migrant children overall, especially among the second generation, younger cohorts, and girls with a migrant background, indicating promising upward mobility within the education system for many of these children. The family environment impacts educational outcomes, with socioeconomic background playing a crucial role. Higher parental incomes correlate with higher education levels for children in both the short and long term. Additionally, the living environment affects outcomes such as school dropout rates, especially among boys from migrant backgrounds in larger cities. They are more prone to leaving education prematurely than their female or non-migrant peers. Despite institutional barriers and discrimination within the education system, these children demonstrate an upward trend in education, highlighting the need for further research incorporating discrimination as a factor. Show less
What can public attitudes towards the integration of co-ethnic migrants teach us about social integration in newly diverse societies? Research finds that South Koreans prefer co-ethnic migrants... Show moreWhat can public attitudes towards the integration of co-ethnic migrants teach us about social integration in newly diverse societies? Research finds that South Koreans prefer co-ethnic migrants from culturally similar or desirable origins, but it says little about the integration of migrant groups. Existing data and qualitative studies suggest considerable barriers to fully incorporating otherwise preferred migrants. Focusing on integrating North Korean migrants in South Korea – a relatively privileged migrant group that enjoys substantial resettlement support but encounters barriers to full integration – this paper addresses the research gap by testing competing explanations of migrant incorporation. Informed by Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT), the study examines how threats defined as realistic or symbolic shape native attitudes toward these migrants. Using a conjoint survey experiment to measure preferences for economic, political, and social integration, we find South Koreans favor North Korean migrants with extended residence in South Korea, which is a marker for diminishing realistic and symbolic intergroup threats. Conversely, migrants signaling stronger affiliations to North Korea or lacking diverse social ties in South Korea fail to alleviate intergroup threat concerns and consequently face discrimination. Our findings offer insights into integration policy and contribute to the migration and citizenship literature and contemporary Korean Studies. Show less
Habermehl, D.; Van Kerckhove, J.; Roymans, N.; Kootker, L.; Boreel, G.; Braekmans, D.; Heeren, S. 2023
The study of migration is essential for understanding the earliest phases of the Roman period in the Lower Rhine delta. This paper applies an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, combining... Show moreThe study of migration is essential for understanding the earliest phases of the Roman period in the Lower Rhine delta. This paper applies an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, combining and comparing historical, archaeological and science-based evidence and methodologies, allowing a more detailed reconstruction of immigration during this period. Our study suggests that various groups migrated to our region, probably over a longer period of time, originating from different regions and arriving in a land with a (probably limited) residual population. This marked and varied immigration should be understood in the context of Roman frontier policy and the (ethnic) recruitment of Germanic groups by the Roman military. Show less
The East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have... Show moreThe East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have developed in relative isolation without much contact with other languages. In this dissertation, I take a deep dive into the East Baltic lexicon, peeling away the layers of prehistoric borrowings in the process. As well as significant contact events with known languages, like the Russian dialect of Novgorod-Pskov, Gothic and the ancestors of modern Finnish, Sámi and Mordvin, the lexicon also reveals evidence of contact with unattested languages from which earlier populations must have shifted upon the arrival of the Balts in the Baltic region. The fragments obtained not only shed light on the linguistic features of these lost languages, but also provide a new perspective on the sociolinguistic scenario which led the earlier populations of the region to undergo language shift. Show less
Harkel, A.T. ten; Dierendonck, R. van; Farber, E.; Dee, M.; Doeve, P.; Hamerow, H.; ... ; Deckers, P. 2023
THIS PAPER ADDRESSES THE QUESTION, who were the people who were buried at the early medievalNorth Sea emporia? Conclusions about the mercantile character of the North Sea emporia are often based on... Show moreTHIS PAPER ADDRESSES THE QUESTION, who were the people who were buried at the early medievalNorth Sea emporia? Conclusions about the mercantile character of the North Sea emporia are often based on portablematerial culture. In recognition of the fact that it is difficult to draw conclusions about the identities of people basedon finds assemblages, two pilot projects have been completed that involved bioarchaeological analyses of cemetery pop-ulations associated with these sites. The first of these, the Investigating the Dead in Early Medieval Domburg project,undertook multi-disciplinary analyses of the (very small) surviving burial population from the mostly destroyed sitesin the Domburg area (Netherlands), combining isotope analysis, radiocarbon dating, biological anthropology, dendro-chronology, and provenancing and study of previous use of coffin wood. The second, the Medieval Migrants of theNorth Sea World project, inventoried available isotopic evidence for human remains from emporia sites in England,the Netherlands and Scandinavia, alongside contextual archaeological information. This paper presents both projects,providing the detailed information from Domburg in its wider, international context, and highlighting the need for acomprehensive research agenda to fill current gaps in our understanding of early medieval emporia populations. Show less
Concerns about the impact of immigration (‘diversity’) on welfare states (‘solidarity’) are widespread among political economists. This article presents an alternative theoretical framework for... Show moreConcerns about the impact of immigration (‘diversity’) on welfare states (‘solidarity’) are widespread among political economists. This article presents an alternative theoretical framework for understanding their relationship. Using social and cultural theory, I argue that it is tautological to suggest that diversity and solidarity covary; both emerge out of the same ideological and material efforts to construct an ‘ingroup.’ I probe this theory with a historical case study of the inclusion of (post)colonial migrants in the Netherlands from 1945 to 1968. Complementing secondary literature with original archival research, I show key state and non-state agents of the emergent Dutch welfare state constructing racial categories by fixing ‘Westernness’ or ‘rootedness’ as a salient determinant of ingroup membership, locating (post)colonial migrants in relation to it, and distributing entry, citizenship and social rights accordingly. An elusive metric of cultural proximity, ‘Westernness’ was under construction at the same time as it was in use, as state officials, social workers, and private charities negotiated its meaning with the public. The article not only compels European welfare scholarship to acknowledge race and racism in its recent past, but also builds theory regarding the influence of identity on redistributive outcomes. Show less
Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances. Mammals indeed spend the winter in hibernation to conserve energy, food,... Show moreOrganisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances. Mammals indeed spend the winter in hibernation to conserve energy, food, etc., for future purposes. Microbial populations also possess similar characteristics, where organisms enter into a state of low metabolic activity in response to adverse environmental conditions. In plant populations, the analogous strategy is the suspension of seed germination for an extended period of time. Several studies suggest that this bet-hedging strategy has important evolutionary consequences and plays a crucial role in maintaining genetic diversities in a population. In this thesis, we draw motivations from biological populations featuring this trait and investigate its effect in a probabilistic framework. In particular, we introduce a mathematical notion of dormancy in several well-known stochastic interacting systems and study how it changes the qualitative and quantitative properties of the systems by characterizing their behaviors in the long run. The construction of our model is built upon a well-known stochastic process in mathematical population genetics called the Moran model. The Moran model describes the genetic evolution of a single, reproductively active, finite population without seed-bank. We modify the model to include dormancy and extend it to the context of spatially structured populations with varying sizes. Show less
Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and... Show moreModern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants. Show less
Stipriaan, Alex van; Alofs, Luc; Guadeloupe, Francio 2023
Centuries of intense and involuntary migrations deeply impacted the development of the creolised cultures on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. This volume describes... Show moreCenturies of intense and involuntary migrations deeply impacted the development of the creolised cultures on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. This volume describes various forms of cultural heritage produced on these islands over time and whether these heritages are part of their ‘national’ identifications. What forms of heritage express the idea of a shared “we” (nation-building) and what images are presented to the outside world (nation-branding)? What cultural heritage is shared between the islands and what are some real or perceived differences? In this book, examples of cultural heritage on these three islands ranging from sports to questions of reparations, from museums to digital humanities, from archaeology to music, from language and literature to tourism, and from visual art to diaspora policies are compared to developments elsewhere in the Caribbean. Show less
This is the introduction to the special issue "Greece and the South: Grammars of Comparison, Protest, and Futurity," edited by the authors of the introduction.
Based on ethnographic research among Burundian refugee boys and young men in Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda, we explore how boys and young men in the camp, guided by the longing for a better... Show moreBased on ethnographic research among Burundian refugee boys and young men in Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda, we explore how boys and young men in the camp, guided by the longing for a better life, aspire for onward migration and develop strategies based on their knowledge of relevant legal frameworks. Given that onward migration under the UNHCR framework is possible for onlythe most ‘vulnerable’, we highlight the negotiation strategies adopted by some boys and youngmen to support their ‘process’ ,based on sexual vulnerability related to being in same-sex relationships. Notwithstanding the deprivation and bleak prospects, we thus propose to look at the refugee settlement also as a space opening chance for vital transformation. At the same time, we point out that the restricting frameworks seeking to foster protection of refugees, may, in an environment hostile to same-sex relations, unintentionally render refugee boys and young men more vulnerable to gendered exploitation. Show less
This article argues that the concept of migrant literature, developed in postcolonial studies, is a useful tool for analysing Greek literature of the Early Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68). The city of... Show moreThis article argues that the concept of migrant literature, developed in postcolonial studies, is a useful tool for analysing Greek literature of the Early Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68). The city of Rome attracted huge numbers of migrants from across the Mediterranean. Among them were many writers from Hellenized provinces like Egypt, Syria and Asia, who wrote in Greek. Leaving their native regions and travelling to Rome, they moved between cultures, responding in Greek to the new world order. Early imperial Greek writers include Strabo of Amasia, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Nicolaus of Damascus, Timagenes of Alexandria, Crinagoras of Mytilene, Philo of Alexandria and Paul of Tarsus. What connects these authors of very different origins, styles, beliefs, and literary genres is migrancy. They are migrant writers whose works are characterized by in-betweenness, ambivalence and polyphony. Show less
In populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the... Show moreIn populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the population is called the seed-bank. Seed-banks are observed in many taxa, including plants, bacteria and other micro-organisms. Typically, they arise as a response to unfavourable environmental conditions. In this thesis we study the effect of a seed-bank on the genetic diversity in a population. The individuals in the population carry one of two gene types, live in colonies and can be either active or dormant. Active individuals can migrate between the colonies, resample and become dormant. Dormant individuals can only become active: they do not migrate and they do not reproduce themselves. The model is described by a system of interacting Fisher-Wright diffusions. Analysing this system of interacting diffusions, we show that the seed-bank enhances the genetic diversity in a population. If the individuals can become dormant for long enough times, the seed-bank can even prevent that a gene type becomes extinct. Show less
There has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a... Show moreThere has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a period that hosts the first legal actions vis-à-vis the agency and a series of relevant non-judicial investigations, including by the European Parliament, this dissertation aims to address the main problem underlying these accountability efforts, namely the ‘problem of many hands’. As conceptualised by Dennis Thompson, this problem is where the multiplicity of the actors involved obscures the various responsibilities and creates gaps in accountability.To address it, this work contests the dominant ways of looking at the concepts of responsibility and accountability, and reimagines them for their optimal function.It adopts a holistic approach, taking into account not only judicial, but also other forms of accountability, studying not only EU liability law, but also other legal remedies before the CJEU, the ECtHR, and domestic courts, building bridges between international and EU law, and traveling from the empirical to the conceptual, to the normative, and from there to the applied.It creates the foundations for the accountability of the agency inside and outside courts, within the EU borders and beyond. Show less
The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya have been increasingly criminalised. We investigate the discursive underpinnings of this process by analyzing all... Show moreThe non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya have been increasingly criminalised. We investigate the discursive underpinnings of this process by analyzing all the articles on sea rescue NGOs published between 2014 and 2019 by two major Italian newspapers located at opposite sides of the political spectrum: Il Giornale and La Repubblica. Our discourse analysis shows that the media salience of non-governmental sea rescue increased enormously following the first public allegations against humanitarians and peaked in 2019 after some standoffs between some NGOs and the Italian government, when the number of migrants rescued at sea had already dropped to a minimum. This inflated and heavily politicised media coverage contains both direct and indirect criminalisation discourses. Though sometimes directly accused of colluding with human smugglers and profiting from irregular migration, sea rescue NGOs have more often been indirectly criminalised through the same framing devices typically used to stigmatise irregular mobility at large, namely associational links, metaphors, frame-jacking, and othering. Show less
