Influencers are persistently exposed through social media. Once almost unapproachable, celebrities are now open to daily interaction with the public. From comments, polls, emails, and even private... Show moreInfluencers are persistently exposed through social media. Once almost unapproachable, celebrities are now open to daily interaction with the public. From comments, polls, emails, and even private messages, the public can engage with their celebrities with a mere click. While this engagement provides influencers with advantages, it also renders them particularly susceptible to online harassment and toxic critics. This paper investigates the characteristics, impact, and reactions to cyber victimisation among social media influencers. To accomplish this objective, the paper presents the findings of two studies: a self-reported online victimisation survey conducted among Spanish influencers and an online ethnography. The results indicate that over 70% of influencers have encountered some form of online harassment and toxic critics. Cyber victimisation, its effects, and reactions vary across socio-demographic characteristics and the influencers’ profiles. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis of the online ethnography reveals that harassed influencers can be classified as non-ideal victims. The implications of these findings for the literature are discussed. Show less
When using the concept of transit migration, contemporary scholarly literature and policy documents typically refer to situations located outside or at the outskirts of the European Union. By... Show moreWhen using the concept of transit migration, contemporary scholarly literature and policy documents typically refer to situations located outside or at the outskirts of the European Union. By analyzing the critical and empirical scholarship which uncovers the so-called gray area where it becomes hard to make clear distinctions that can be found at the nexus between migrant smuggling and human trafficking, the article aims to shed new light on the real-life vulnerabilities and dynamics that do not fit prototypical legal categories of either human trafficking or migrant smuggling. In so doing, the article discusses and analyzes legal and empirical scholarship that uncovers these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities observed are likely to be further enhanced in transit zones where stranded individuals within the EU aim to continue their (increasingly) fragmented/non-linear migration journeys. Therefore, the article proposes to consider the usefulness and the usage of the notion of “transit migration” in the context of Intra-Schengen border mobility and not just when discussing external border mobility. The article argues that the concept of transit migration, if carefully defined, and if particular vulnerabilities found in transit space are recognized, can serve as a helpful lens that can prevent falling into the trap of conceiving migrant smuggling and human trafficking as strictly separate phenomena. Show less
This article provides an in-depth study of the Act on Municipal Administrative Sanctions 1999 (MAS), which is the first major piece of legislation regulating antisocial behaviour in Belgium. MAS... Show moreThis article provides an in-depth study of the Act on Municipal Administrative Sanctions 1999 (MAS), which is the first major piece of legislation regulating antisocial behaviour in Belgium. MAS provides municipalities with an instrument to sanction antisocial behaviour and conduct perceived to disturb public order. The article uses Garland’s(2001) thesisonthecultureofcontroltoanalysewhetherMAShasledtoincreasedgovernmentcontrol and the exclusion of significant groups of the population. The research is based on a multiple case study in which the application of MAS was analysed over a 25-year period of security policies in Belgium (1985–2010). The Act’s implementation was studied in the two Belgian cities of Antwerp and Liège in order to consider the influence of the Flemish government and the Walloon government, respectively, in this policy area. The article uses insights from this comparison to revisit the culture of control thesis and its limitations in understanding the political competition that exists over the formulation of policies on antisocial behaviour. Show less
