Migration: a research topic for or beyond political science?
Les migrations : objet pour ou au-delà de la science politique ?
ST85 XVe congrès de l'Association française de science politique (AFSP)
Published on Monday, December 10, 2018
Abstract
This thematic session (ST), organized as part of the AFSP’s 15th Congress, focuses on the place of political science in the understanding of international migration. Our ambition is to question the theoretical and analytical contribution of political science to migration studies and conversely the contribution of migration studies to the analysis of the central research topics in political science about migration. Are there paradigms, scales of analysis, or questions specific to political science? The thematic session intends to overcome the fragmentation of the research in political science. It aims at enhancing the articulation and complementarity of the different subfields of the discipline, while questioning the potential and limits of each. While selecting the papers presented, we will value efforts to go beyond traditional analysis units (individuals, groups, states) and established levels of analysis (individual, local, national, international).
Announcement
Argument
Variety, fragmentation and interdisciplinarity characterize contemporary migration studies. This thematic session (ST),organized as part of the AFSP’s 15th Congress, focuses on the place of political science in the understanding of international migration. Our ambition is to question the theoretical and analytical contribution of political science to migration studies and conversely the contribution of migration studies to the analysis of the central research topics of political science. Are there paradigms, scales of analysis, or questions specific to political science? The ST intends to overcome the fragmentation of the research in political science about migration. It aims at enhancing the articulation and complementarity of the different subfields of the discipline, while questioning the potential and limits of each. While selecting the papers, we will value efforts to go beyond traditional units of analysis (individuals, groups, states) and established levels of analysis (individual, local, national, international). We will be attentive to synchronic and diachronic comparisons. The debates will be organized according to three research lines or axes: Questioning categories and typologies of migration and international mobility (axis 1); Rethinking the centrality of the state (axis 2); and Integrating scales into migration analyses (axis 3).
Axis 1: Questioning categories and typologies of migration and international mobility
The categorization of migration—as “voluntary”, “forced”, “legal”, “illegal”, “economic”, “family”, “skilled”, “student”, etc.—and individuals in a post-migration situation (“foreigners”, “immigrant”, “expatriate”, “second generation”, “diversity”, etc.) structure the public debate and legitimize migration policies. It is not only migrants that are categorized, but also States and societies according to their place in migratory movements perceived as linear. These typologies, which infuse the scientific discourse in more or less critical ways, show their limits because of the complexity of migrants’ routes and trajectories. This first axis welcomes research that focuses on the process of categorizing migrants and their descendants as well as States and societies from which they leave and where they arrive, stay, settle or transit. We welcome contributions that focus on the past and present political uses of these categories as well as proposals that contribute to the development of alternative typologies and categories.
Axis 2: Rethinking the centrality of the State
It is a question of both getting out of “state thinking” (“pensée d’État”) (Sayad 1999) and the apprehension of migration “from the top”, while recognizing that the organization of migration debates, the integration of newcomers and the control of “undesirables” place the State at the heart of the process. The development and implementation of migration policies involve more actors than state actors, especially NGOs, diaspora communities, the private sector and religious charities. It also invites layers of complexity to be added to the issues analysed by addressing, among other things, the outsourcing of control, the privatization of migration management, governance au guichet (at the ticket counter) (Spire 2008) or the impacts on international relations and the difficult emergence of a global governance of migration (Badie et al. 2008). Papers addressing these different processes are welcome.
Axis 3: Integrating scales into migration analyses
Another challenge to understanding contemporary migratory trends lies in the variety of levels of analysis: from the individual level (migrants and their trajectories), to the local level (the local perception of the arrival of newcomers), the national level (State responses and associated controversies), the global level (impact on international relations, global and transnational advocacy campaigns related to migration). We welcome contributions that link different scales of analysis, as well as comparative approaches that provide more nuanced understanding of similar processes.
Submission guidelines
Proposals, in French or English, have to be sent
by the 12 December 2018,
to the scientific coordinators of the Session :
- farida.souiah@univ-amu.fr
- damien.simonneau@usaintlouis.be
References
Badie Bertrand et al., Pour un autre regard sur les migrations. Construire une gouvernance mondiale, Paris, La découverte 2008.
Bigo Didier, “Borders, mobility and security”, Kauppi Niilo (ed.), A political sociology of transnational Europe, ECPR Press, 2013, p. 111-126.
Brettell, Caroline et James Hollifield. Migration Theory: Talking across Disciplines. 2e éd. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Guiraudon Virginie, “Weak Weapons of the Weak? Transnational Mobilisation around Migration in the European Union”, in D. Imig & S. Tarrow (dir.), Contentious Europeans. Protest and Politics in an Emerging Polity, Lanham, Rowman and Littlefield, 2001, p.163-183.
Hamidi, Camille, et Nicolas Fischer. Les politiques migratoires. Repères Sociologie. Paris : La Découverte, 2016.
Jeandesboz Julien & Polly Pallister-Wilkins, “Crisis, Routine, Consolidation: The Politics of the Mediterranean Migration Crisis”, Mediterranean Politics, 21:2, 2016, p. 316-320.
Martiniello, Marco. « Comparisons in Migration Studies ». Comparative Migration Studies 1, no 1, 2013, pp.7-22.
Morawska, Ewa, et Michael Bommes (dir). International Migration Research: Constructions, Omissions and the Promises of Interdisciplinarity. Aldershot, Hants, England ; Burlington, VT : Routledge, 2005.
Sayad Abdelmalek, « Immigration et “pensée d’État” », Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales. Vol. 129, 1999, Délits d’immigration. p. 5-14.
Spire Alexis, Accueillir ou reconduire. Enquête sur les guichets de l’immigration, Raisons d’agir, 2008, 124 p.
Vuddamalay, Vasoodeven, et Catherine Wihtol de Wenden. « Migration and Migration Research in France ». In International Migration and the Social Sciences, édité par Ellie Vasta et Vasoodeven Vuddamalay, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2006, p. 79-142.
Subjects
- Political studies (Main category)
- Society > Geography > Migration, immigration, minorities
Places
- Bordeaux, France (33)
Date(s)
- Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Keywords
- migration, politique migratoire, catégorisation, acteur, échelle d’analyse, interdisciplinarité
Contact(s)
- Farida Souiah
courriel : farida [dot] souiah [at] univ-amu [dot] fr - Damien Simonneau
courriel : damien [dot] simonneau [at] usaintlouis [dot] be
Reference Urls
Information source
- Farida Souiah
courriel : farida [dot] souiah [at] univ-amu [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Migration: a research topic for or beyond political science? », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, December 10, 2018, https://doi.org/10.58079/11gz
