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VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon

Reaching Out to Close the Border: The Transnationalization of Anti-Immigration Movements in Europe (Anti-Mig)

Alternative title: Å gå over grensen for å få den stengt: Transnasjonale dimensjoner ved Europas anti-immigrasjon bevegelser

Awarded: NOK 11.8 mill.

Project Number:

303219

Application Type:

Project Period:

2020 - 2024

Funding received from:

Subject Fields:

Partner countries:

European citizens increasingly see immigration as a major concern. Opposition to immigration is on the increase across the political spectrum and is a basis for forceful political mobilization. Anti-immigration movements tend to advocate for isolationism, nationalism and cultural traditionalism, and sees it as a central objective to limit mobility across borders. At the same time, such movements often work transnationally, with joint events, strategies and campaigns across borders and in multilateral forums. The Anti-Mig project studies contemporary European anti-immigration movements, with a particular focus on the transnational dimensions of their mobilization. We have a threefold analytical focus: 1) Interaction; the networks and the forms of cooperation across borders 2) Framing: the political and cultural foundations asserted 3) Outcomes: the impact of the movements on migration policies A core element in the project is studies of the developments in six countries, which taken together should represent much of the variation within Western Europe: Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom (since the launch, an external grant has enabled us to add Portugal as a 6th case study; furthermore). We have involved a group of international experts in a (Covid-19 adapted) virtual Methodology Lab, developing innovative methodological approaches, and we engage with actors in government and civil society to share findings. The main data sources are qualitative interviews, complemented by document analysis and surveys. The project team has their main competence at the intersection of social movement and migration studies, within sociology, political science and human geography. With a multifaceted communication strategy, the project aims at stimulating public debate, foster learning and reflection among policymakers, as well as contributing to the scholarly debate and eventually lay the basis for a new research agenda. By December 2023, with one years to go before the project concludes, it has already contributed with a range of publication, including papers that deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on anti-immigration activism, the role that anti-immigration mobilization played in Brexit (and post-Brexit), the mutual relationship between pro- and anti-immigration activism, as well as the shifts in the sentiment, salience and framing of immigration. Furthermore, the project has, in a range og publications, examined how migration figures in far-right mobilization, on anti-Islamic mobilization, and on how gender figures in far-right and anti-migration mobilization. Web: https://www.prio.org/projects/1857

Immigration is seen as a major concern by many Europeans. Simultaneously, opposition to immigration - across the political spectrum - is the issue which most forcefully mobilizes politically. It is a paradox that anti-immigration movements, whose key concern is opposing mobility across borders and who advocate isolationism, nationalism and cultural traditionalism, often work transnationally, with joint events, strategies and campaigns across borders and in multilateral forums. Anti-Mig studies contemporary European anti-immigration movements, by focusing on 1) interaction (forms and consequences), 2) framing (political-ideological underpinnings), and 3) outcomes (on migration policies). A comprehensive analytical state-of-the-art framing will be followed by a pilot study to trace transnational outcomes in Europe, five comprehensive studies of most different cases (Germany, Italy, Norway, Austria, UK), and a major synthesizing comparison. A Methodology Lab, including leading scholars with various specialties, will be engaged to inform the ambitious multi-methods design, with process-tracing as the key methodology aiming for theory development. The main sources of data are surveys, internet (both to map interaction and gather documents), and interviews. The multidisciplinary team of five draws from globally leading research environments on social movements, radicalization, conflict and migration. Anti-Mig will engage with users in a Practitioners Exchange, from the initial design phase to the ultimate dissemination of findings. Through its platforms for engaging both scholars and users, research communication is an integral part of the project from day one, including an integrated outreach strategy on multiple platforms to reach all relevant audiences. A core ambition of the project is to inspire new projects on transnational anti-immigration mobilization, while also drawing up and generating interest in a new agenda on the contentious governance of migration.

Publications from Cristin

Funding scheme:

VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon