About this Event
‘Integration’ and ‘deportation’ seem to be two opposed ways of talking about and responding to immigration. Indeed, in many countries 'successful integration’ can be a ground for suspending a deportation or even awarding (exceptional) residence rights. However, as we will argue in this paper, the integration paradigm is also mobilised to justify deportations and effectively increase unwanted migrants’ deportability. Based on original research mainly in Germany and Austria, we will explore two kinds of connections between deportation and integration: On the one hand, we focus on cases in which the deportation of undeserving foreigners is presented as necessary to ensure the successful integration of those who are (more) deserving and of the (host) society as a whole. On the other hand, we will refer to cases in which the ‘reintegration’ of deportees in their countries of origin is used to legitimise and ‘facilitate’ their more or less forced return. In seeking to contribute to a critical understanding of the (mis)uses of the concept of integration, our analysis ties in with studies highlighting the various ways in which integration and disintegration or inclusion and exclusion discourses and measures are intertwined.
Speakers
- Sophie Hinger, University of Osnabruck
- Reinhard Schweiter, University of Sussex
Discussant
- Jean-Michel Lafleur, University of Liege
Sophie Hinger and Reinhard Schweiter co-edited a book Politics of (Dis)Integration (2019) - part of the IMISCOE Research Series open access book series
This Sheffield MRG seminar is co-sponsored by IMISCOE Editorial Committee