The anthropology of citizenship has sought to understand citizenship beyond formal-legal definitions, including a focus on how those who are legally without citizenship rights also engage in... Show moreThe anthropology of citizenship has sought to understand citizenship beyond formal-legal definitions, including a focus on how those who are legally without citizenship rights also engage in everyday acts of political claims-making. While this emphasis on the enactment of citizenship has expanded our understanding of who counts as a political being, it has also been obviously human centered. Might we also understand animals’ acts, their presence and movements, as having the potential to constitute political constituents? This article develops a more-than-human perspective on political claims-making by connecting insights from human-animal studies to the anthropology of citizenship. We draw on research on rats in Amsterdam to propose an understanding of these animals’ interventions in the urban built environment as more-than-human “acts of denizenship.” Focusing on different forms of rat behavior, we analyze rats’ mundane interactions and relations with the city's residents, infrastructure, and other animals as forms of claims-making. We see the behavior as efforts that are partially recognized by humans and that, as such, can be understood as enacting a relation of denizenship. Such attention to how rats act in and on urban space, we suggest, can help us conceptualize political agency and the formation of political belonging in ways that extend beyond the human. Show less
The determinants of whether or not an immigrant seeks to become a citizen are still largely invisible to scholars; as are the decisions made during the naturalization process by street-level... Show moreThe determinants of whether or not an immigrant seeks to become a citizen are still largely invisible to scholars; as are the decisions made during the naturalization process by street-level bureaucrats. Research on the acquisition of citizenship has incorporated a number of determinants of naturalization outcomes over the past decades, but lacks the contextualization of immigration law in its relation to criminal law. This systematic literature review of the 140 most-cited papers across the naturalization and crimmigration literatures seeks to construct a theoretical bridge between the disciplines in an effort to illuminate the blind spots challenging naturalization scholarship. I argue that the inclusion of crimmigration as a factor impacting naturalization is essential for scholarship in order to accurately use citizenship policies as an indicator of a state’s overall approach to immigration - particularly regarding residence requirements. The conceptual utilization of crimmigration in the context of citizenship acquisition offers new insights into the underexplored relationship between citizenship policy and the individual migrant, potentially uncovering some of the factors hindering immigrants’ ability to seek formal membership. Evidence within recent crimmigration scholarship points towards the role played by racialization within the functioning of a crimmigration system. This paper reviews the prominent streams of both strands of literature first utilizing a bibliometric analysis of the respective citation networks and second, diving into the substantial developments and parallels in naturalization and crimmigration research. Show less
The role of municipalities in migrant integration in post-war European history has largely slipped below the radar in previous migration research. Our special issue presents case studies on how... Show moreThe role of municipalities in migrant integration in post-war European history has largely slipped below the radar in previous migration research. Our special issue presents case studies on how Bristol, Dortmund, Malmö, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Utrecht managed migrant influxes from the mid-1940s to 1960s. Following interdisciplinary advances in local migration studies, our urban histories take a diversity of approaches, present diverse temporalities, and uncover municipal responses that range from generosity to indifference and to outright hostility. In all six cities, despite such diversity in local attitudes and municipal policies, municipal authorities had significant impacts on migrants’ lives. The introductory article explores how our urban perspectives contribute to scholarship on reconstruction and the post-war boom; welfare; democracy and citizenship; and European integration. Using local migration as a lens into postwar European history, we argue, provides important new insights for the historiography of postwar Europe. Show less
Emigrants can vote from abroad for about 120 territories and immigrants can vote in about 50 countries. Many international migrants can vote or abstain in both the origin and residence countries,... Show moreEmigrants can vote from abroad for about 120 territories and immigrants can vote in about 50 countries. Many international migrants can vote or abstain in both the origin and residence countries, making four distinct types of migrant electoral behavior: immigrant, emigrant, and dual transnational voting, as well as abstention. Migrant political participation affects democratic decision-making and electoral outcomes in two polities, reasons for which both migrant enfranchisement and migrant voting merit scholarly research. My goal is to unpack why migrants decide to vote or abstain in either the origin or residence country, in both, or in neither. I conducted surveys and interviews in Chile and Ecuador, likely cases in which to find individuals with national-level voting rights in two countries. I argue that political resocialization helps to explain individual-level migrant voter turnout. I posit resources combined with ties to people or places in one or both countries constitute a necessary condition and resources with a motive to vote serves as a sufficient condition for migrant voting. Rather than a trade-off of replacement, over time migrants change their positioning and motives to vote in one country or both countries.The case studies shed light on the legal and normative origins of migrant enfranchisement over the last century, differences among migrant voting variants, and how political (re)socialization processes help explain why migrants vote and change voting behavior over time. Show less
This study analyses security policy in Colombia between 2002 and 2018 and the role the national police force played in this strategy. During the timeframe researched, an unprecedented number of... Show moreThis study analyses security policy in Colombia between 2002 and 2018 and the role the national police force played in this strategy. During the timeframe researched, an unprecedented number of public policies were created. It also constitutes the most critical period of the internal armed conflict between state security forces, guerrillas, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers. A peace process was also initiated at this time, leading to a new phase of transition. As a result, traditional state-centrism models of security have been rethought but not yet implemented. The thesis explores a series of public policies on security, highlighting the important institutional way of dealing with public problems in Colombia, where confusion about different actors’ roles in managing security has persisted. This situation reflects the reductionism surrounding national security, which has been accentuated by the very circumstances surrounding the armed conflict and drug trafficking in the second half of the twentieth century. Show less
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, (im)mobility policies affected individuals’ citizenship rights and movement within countries and across international borders. Prior to the pandemic, the... Show moreDuring the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, (im)mobility policies affected individuals’ citizenship rights and movement within countries and across international borders. Prior to the pandemic, the mobility regime in South America was relatively open for regional migrants, bolstered on free residence and equal rights. In this analysis, we focus on human mobility and citizenship rights in South America by examining local and national government responses to Covid-19 between March and August 2020. Using databases, newspaper columns, government websites, and legislation, we outline the region’s travel restrictions and exceptions, closures and militarization of borders, internal movement procedures, and economic subsidies to ease Covid-19’s impact. While the regional mobility regime had already been under stress since 2015, exceptions to border closures and internal mobility further stratified people based on legal and economic statuses. Deeply affecting individual-state relations, access to mobility and citizenship rights such as labor, housing, and healthcare varied between nationals and non-nationals and between regular and irregular migrants. Reactions may have longer term effects, especially for Venezuelans, since the crisis created new inequalities and contradictions within the regional mobility regime, originally aimed at reducing them. Show less
In October 2019, massive demonstrations took place in the streets of Santiago, Chile. The demands were varied, addressing several aspects of the acute social inequalities that characterise Chilean... Show moreIn October 2019, massive demonstrations took place in the streets of Santiago, Chile. The demands were varied, addressing several aspects of the acute social inequalities that characterise Chilean society. Protests were met with a brutally violent response by the police forces deployed to control them. What was more difficult to regulate was the explosion of graffiti and street art that accompanied the social unrest. These mobilisations speak of the repolitisation of the civil sphere through the occupation of public spaces. In this article, I propose to look at the role public spaces have played in these events not only from the perspective of public spaces as sites of political encounter and counter-hegemonic mobilisations, but mostly as borders. I contend that public spaces act as material and symbolic borders where the struggles over practices of ordering and othering take place. By looking at the history of a square in Santiago’s city center—Plaza de la Dignidad—and a selection of the graffiti in its surroundings, I explore how the square acts as a border and, in doing so, enables an alternative spatial imagination that feeds new possible political and social orders. Show less
Since the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998, the indigenous movement in Indonesia has become one of the world’s largest national movements to champion the cause of rural... Show moreSince the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998, the indigenous movement in Indonesia has become one of the world’s largest national movements to champion the cause of rural communities. Its advocacy has pushed the government to implement legal reforms that have widened the scope for recognition of collective land rights. In the context of Indonesia’s widespread land conflicts, an important question is who gets to benefit from laws that grant land rights on the basis of indigeneity? By design, such laws are limited in their scope, given that they only grant rights to those that qualify as indigenous. In order to explain how indigeneity can actually empower local communities, this book adopts the perspective of actors at the local level. Focusing on how local land users in South Sulawesi invoke indigeneity in their struggles over land, this book explores the local processes through which claims to indigenous adat land rights succeed or fail to be recognized. The book combines case studies, legal analysis, and theories on social movements and collective action frames. The book alarmingly shows that by making indigeneity a prerequisite for land rights, the most vulnerable people may actually be excluded from obtaining such rights. Show less
Eurasians were privileged groups of mixed ancestry in Asian colonial societies. They were the result of unions between European males and indigenous women. They neither belonged to the... Show moreEurasians were privileged groups of mixed ancestry in Asian colonial societies. They were the result of unions between European males and indigenous women. They neither belonged to the colonizers, nor to the colonized. When colonization came to an end, the Eurasians found themselves in a difficult position. The European rulers, on which their status was based, were gone. The new indigenous rulers usually perceived them suspiciously as colonial remnants and sometimes even as traitors. In this chaotic, sometimes violent situation, they had to decide where they belonged: in the country of their European fathers or the former colony, the country of their Asian mothers. This was a serious dilemma since they only knew the mother country from stories and lessons at school. In this project I have compared the position and options of the Indo-Europeans with those of similar groups from two other former Asian co lonies, the Anglo-Indians from British India and the Métis people from French Indochina. This study of Eurasians from three former colonies showed that an emancipation paradox of acquiring more rights while discriminated against more at the same time was instrumental in creating the framework in which Eurasians had to make their choices. Show less
The objective of this socio-historical study is to contribute to a better and fuller insight in the development of Curaçao society in the twentieth century. The question that lies at the heart of... Show moreThe objective of this socio-historical study is to contribute to a better and fuller insight in the development of Curaçao society in the twentieth century. The question that lies at the heart of this study was: What was the influence of the Catholic Church in the development of Curaçao society in the period in which this society was strongly in the process of industrialization and modernization and that subsequently made the transition to democracy, self-government and therewith to citizenship? A considerable part of this study is based on literature and archival research, conducted in both Curaçao and the Netherlands, supplemented with the analysis of existing oral history material and the execution of targeted additional interviews. These additional interviews were conducted for greater knowledge and to illustrate, substantiate or clarify a specific situation. The study focuses on the development of society and therein specifically on the position of the Catholic, predominantly Afro-Curaçaoan, population. Show less
This study examines the links between the state and civil society in Chile and the ways social policies have contributed since 1990 to the construction of democratic governance in that country. The... Show moreThis study examines the links between the state and civil society in Chile and the ways social policies have contributed since 1990 to the construction of democratic governance in that country. The main transformations in the link between the state and civil society in the period under consideration took shape in public policies, particularly in the social area. This was the top priority in government management and constituted the main difference from the previous neoliberal stance adopted by the Pinochet regime (1973-1990). On the basis of such policies, furthermore, participatory guidelines were set forth and efforts were directed to ensure social inclusion of the poorest sectors in society. The study discusses the role of public policies and the opportunities they provide for civil society in a scenario of political stability and economic growth based on opening to the foreign sector and the predominance of market economy. Given a broad notion of governance, it is argued that public policies have been the main instrument for transformation resorted to by democratic administrations since 1990 to amend the circumstances inherited from the military regime. However, the ability of these policies to expand democratic governance has proved to be limited, to the extent that such policies have become subordinate to an elitist model of democracy and adopted a restricted form of citizen participation. In this context, the following are discussed: (a) major social policy agendas; (b) selected innovations in the link between civil society and public policies; and (c) personal trajectories from civil society to positions of government power. Show less
This thesis investigates the highly complex issue of cross-border marriages between Mainland China and Taiwan in the period from early 1990 to 2004. The objectives of this research is to... Show moreThis thesis investigates the highly complex issue of cross-border marriages between Mainland China and Taiwan in the period from early 1990 to 2004. The objectives of this research is to investigate three aspects of cross-border marriage migration: 1) factors and motivations for cross-border marriage, that is, Why do mainland Chinese women choose to leave China and to come to Taiwan and why do Taiwanese men marry mainland Chinese women? 2) formation and justification of borders of exclusion, that is, Why and how are mainland brides constructed as “others”? 3) negotiation of gender and intra-familial relations among members of cross-border families. These questions are answered by looking at the perspectives of different actors and by examining how these perspectives are formed and whether and how they are substantiated. These actors include the state and the media, the marriage brokerage industry, and cross-strait couples and family members. Multiple research methodologies and sources of data are used, including ethnography, discourse analysis of policy and media representation and participant observation. Show less
