Sanda Caracentev, PhD’s Post

"The refugee might indeed be the political figure of our times, as the citizen was during the French Revolution; it is a source of ontological anxiety for nation-states. The principle of non-refoulement, so central to international humanitarian law, represents a limitation of the prevailing doctrine of state sovereignty, constructed on the right to control a territory and its population and therefore to exclude non-nationals. Are charitable celebrations and non-binding declarations anything more than deceptive incantations or can they be the catalyst of a real transformation of the current asylum policies in Europe and beyond, ultimately triggering a more inclusive conception of what is a political and social community? " 🌍On #WorldRefugeeDay, Professor Alessandro Monsutti and Nina Khamsy, PhD researcher in the Anthropology and Sociology department, consider the refugee as "the political figure of our times" and question the deceptive effects of the international celebration. 👉https://lnkd.in/eKpESXGt

Southern European countries continue to inspire the EU's repressive migration control strategies, replacing the former 'teachers' of Central and Northern Europe. On 10 October 2024, in search of 'innovative solutions,' the interior ministries looked south, to the ‘return hubs’ that Italy has already established in Albania, although these seem unpromising in terms of effectiveness and respect for asylum rights. This development further confirms the 'Southernisation of migration models' proposed in the volume 'Migration Control Logics and Strategies in Europe: A North-South Comparison', edited by Claudia Finotelli and myself. https://lnkd.in/d-bFrp4d

In their newly released edition of Immigrant America: A Portrait (University of California Press), UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of sociology Rubén G. Rumbaut and Alejandro Portes of both Princeton University and the University of Miami, provide their fifth decennial update of the "permanently unfinished" story of immigration to the U.S. A modern classic, considered foundational to the field, the updated work examines major periods of U.S. immigration history, the formation of distinct types of migrants, their patterns of settlement and adaptation to the American economy, society and culture, and the coming of age of the generation of their children amid unanticipated local and global events - including, over the past decade, seismic shifts in the wake of political policymaking and the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, Rumbaut reflects on the evolution of Immigrant America from its inception, alongside snapshots of how changing flows and patterns of immigration continue to transform the American mosaic. University of California

This is an eye-opening and theory-rich scholarly work by Brianna Garneau of York University on how migration governance intersects with the carceral nature of migration and border governance. Such a critical approach is especially timely given the emerging anxious conversations in Canada about how to counter Trump's wacky policies, including his imminent push of migrants toward Canada. (Canada must take control of our relationship with Trump https://lnkd.in/e5HVbKCi or "What will be the economic consequences of Donald Trump?" https://lnkd.in/eZGiSt7d 👉 "The governance of migration rests on the organization of the world into numerous territorial nation-states, each with its own racialized ideas of who constitutes the “proper” national-subject or “desirable” ‘non-threatening’ migrant. This article has argued that migration and carceral studies must take seriously the processes of racialization that underpin the governance of migration. To do otherwise fails to make intelligible the historical constitution of the racial Western nation-state and ways in which contemporary migration governance both require and constitute racial difference."

In my recent perspective paper for the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR), I deconstructed Pakistan's approach toward the Afghan Taliban in the context of four strategic fallacies in the country's Afghan geostrategy. Notwithstanding the three-pronged strategic coercion of airstrikes, refugee repatriation, and trade suspension, the Afghan Taliban aren't budging from their policy positions. As a matter of policy, Pakistan has been recalcitrant to rethink its Afghan geostrategy & understand the new realities informing the strategic perceptions of the Neo-Taliban. To align its Afghan policy with these new realities, Pakistan needs a holistic reimagination of its Afghan geostrategy: democratizing debate, de-corporatizing national security, inclusive policymaking, and institutionalizing accountability and transparency. https://lnkd.in/d5jn9DRW

I am honored to present the first of two remarkable individuals who will join us at the Berlin Science Week ODE.systems event. Together, we’ll delve into profound questions of decision-making grounds and adaptation in ever-shifting landscapes. Imagine driving a car, only for your navigation to alter directions every few seconds. There’s no stability—just constant change that pulls you from one path to another. Imagine this as a metaphor for migration: arriving in a new country with unfamiliar cultures, beliefs, and values, where your “decision ground” transforms moment by moment. Is it like an experimental walk through unknown streets by travelers, where every step reveals something new? Perhaps, but what if this journey is not a temporary experience but a permanent one? We’re eager to explore this concept and more as we gather insights from our guests, who have experienced and contributed to these complex transitions. #decisionground #decisionmaking #berlinscienceweek24 #commonground

WORKING TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE AI Trey Causey (MA, Sociology, 2013) is a matchmaker of sorts. At Indeed, a global job-matching and hiring platform, Causey helps connect employers with potential employees. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the company fields millions of requests each year from job seekers and employers. As Indeed’s head of responsible AI and senior director of data science, Causey works to ensure that the company’s AI algorithms promote equity and fairness and prevent biases in hiring. It’s a challenging role that Causey spent years preparing for, including graduate studies at the University of Washington in the Department of Sociology and the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS), both in the College of Arts & Sciences. “At Indeed, our mission is to help people get jobs, and that is actually a very sociological problem in a lot of ways,” Causey says. “My sociology background has definitely been helpful.” READ MORE https://lnkd.in/gWpt-jtg #treycausey #uwsociology #sociology #ai #responsibleai #socialdata #universityofwashington #uwartsandsciences

📚✏ The second edition of the 'Handbook of Research Methods in Migration' edited by William Allen and Carlos Vargas-Silva has been released with a chapter contribution by our own HSC Senior Researcher Sonja Fransen on ‘Conceptualizing, planning, and administering migration surveys’ together with Stefanie Barratt (Samuel Hall) and Craig Loschmann (UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency). 🔗 Check the handbook out: edu.nl/krhav #TheHague #HumanitarianStudiesCentre #HSC #TheHagueHSC #HumanitarianStudies #hscPublications #migration #methodologies #PublicationAlert | Edward Elgar Publishing

Interesting article by Katharina Natter: Why does migration research have so little impact? (1) Policy makers often make selective and symbolic use of knowledge to legitimize their position as decision makers or to support their pre-existing policy preferences; (2) Institutional or individual self-preservation mechanisms determine how knowledge is used (or not) by policy makers; (3) Whether knowledge is used or not is influenced by how salient or politicized it is. As a result, policy makers often stick to migration policies and measures that are known not to work. For example: (a) Criminalization of migrant smuggling (while we know that the absence of regular migration routes creates the conditions in which smuggling can flourish); (b) Restriction of social services for migrants to reduce the alleged pull factors (while there is little evidence that the level of social services determine where migrants go to); (c) Development programmes to address the root causes of migration (while several studies show that development in low-income countries tends to increase rather than reduce emigration); (d) Visa requirements to reduce migration (despite the fact that such restrictions have been shown to often reduce circular movements and encourage people to settle rather than return). https://lnkd.in/e_SAjNKn