Research

Highlights

In-between identities and cultures: Ms Marvel and the representation of young muslim women.

by Jennifer Jackson-Preece and Manmit Bhambra

Can superheroes tell us something important about changing public attitudes towards young Muslim women? To answer this question, we compare how young people react to the portrayal of the superhero Ms. Marvel as a young Muslim woman in different locations in the Middle East and beyond. Our findings suggest that a superhero like Ms. Marvel can create a global discourse on gender and Islam that transcends specific cultural contexts.

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The Criminalisation of Irregular Migration in Europe: Globalisation, Deterrence, and Vicious Cycles

This book by Dr Matilde Rosina (2022) explores the criminalisation of irregular migration in Europe. In particular, it investigates the meaning, purpose, and consequences of criminalising unauthorised entry and stay. From a theoretical perspective, the book adds to the debate on the persistence of irregular migration, despite governments’ attempts at deterring it, by taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws from international political economy and criminology. Using Italy and France as case studies, and relying on previously unreleased data and interviews, it argues that criminalisation has no effect on migratory flows, and that this is due to factors including the latter’s structural determinants and the likely creation of substitution effects. Furthermore, criminalisation is found to lead to adverse consequences, including by contributing to vicious cycles of irregularity and insecurity.

Key BE research themes

Going beyond Eurocentrism
Decentering Europe
Decoloniality
Neo-colonialism
Globalisation
Global Hierarchies
Migration and Borders
Ethnicity and Racialisation
Nations and Nationalism
Cultural narratives

Firm-centred, multi-level approaches to overcoming semi-perioheral constraints

Kira Gartzou-Katsouyanni at the EI and Sonja Avlijaš at the University of Belgrade are co-leading a project on “Firm-centred, multi-level approaches to overcoming semi-peripheral constraints”. The project will result in a Special Issue publication at Studies in Comparative International Development (SCID) in early 2024. The central goal of the project is to advance our understanding about the role of firms as developmental agents in semi-peripheral areas around the globe that frequently face both market and government failures. By focusing on the global semi-periphery, which includes less developed areas in Europe but is not limited to them, the project aims to break the traditional geographical silos that separate scholarship of the Global North and the Global South and foster a process of non-hegemonic knowledge exchange among different areas of the world. In that spirit, the project’s semi-peripheral case studies can also offer lessons for the core European countries, which are being increasingly troubled by environmental, social and economic challenges.

Special Issue Workshop

Migrants. Analysis of media discourse on migrants in Poland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Albania and Czech Republic (MAD)

This project ran from 2018-2021. The aim of the MAD project is to compare media discourses on migrants in five countries: Poland, UK, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Albania. The project involved media monitoring and analysis of media content (TV, press, Internet) related to migration and migrants in each of these countries. This allowed the project to describe (qualitatively and quantitatively) the specific discourse in each country. In addition, qualitative research (FGI) took place, which aims to check how selected social groups receive media coverage.This project culminated in the preparation of a scientific monograph in English, containing comparative analysis of media discourse about migrants in the countries participating in the project.

Collegium Civitas is the leader of the project in cooperation with the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) (represented by Dr Eva Połońska-Kimunguyi), Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), Universiteti Bujqësor i Tiranës (Albania) and Kosovo Center of Diplomacy (Kosovo).

European Management of Migration and Refugees- Consequences for mobility and political stability in transit countries (MARE)

The project ran from 2019-2021 and is jointly conducted by the Fafo Research Foundation, NUPI (both Oslo), the University of Oxford, the Institut Français du Proche Orient (Amman) and 杏吧论坛. At 杏吧论坛 it is led by Dr Natascha Zaun. It analyses the challenges resulting from the disparities in sharing the burden and responsibility for forced migrants worldwide and how states have responded to these challenges. A special focus will be given to the investigation of how international actors, especially European governments and the EU can help host communities secure access to rights for refugees and migrants and economic improvements for both the migrants and the local population. The project will also examine the risk of host communities being destabilised when international actors engage in migration and refugee management. It has a focus on several key regions hosting especially large refugee and migrant populations, including Jordan, Lebanon, Niger, and Uganda.

ALUM

Alliance of Leading Universities on Migration (ALUM) is a unique collaboration among leading universities in Europe, USA and frontier refugee recipient countries in North Africa and the Middle East which aims to help bridge the gap between research and policy in the management of the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis.

ALUM’s network identifies the key units and researchers ready and willing to contribute their expertise to work across national and disciplinary boundaries towards evidence-based policy solutions. ALUM is willing to reason publicly, interact directly with private stakeholders and governmental institutions and, if necessary, engage in closed door negotiations for maximum impact. The alliance now comprises twenty one members. Through executing targeted events, ALUM engages with policymakers from both frontier and destination countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Lebanon and Sweden, as well as UN agencies and European institutions. ALUM has directly engaged with global policy makers in the context of the G7, G20 and the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD).

Gao, Xinchuchu (2022) '', The International Spectator, 57(3), pp. 15-30.

Gao, Xinchuchu and Chen, Xuechen (2022) '', Defence Studies, 22(4), pp. 689-708

Gao, Xinchuchu and Chen, Xuechen (2021) '', The Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies, 13(2)

Glendinning, Simon (2019) '', in Bax, Chantal and van der Heiden, Gert-Jan (eds.), Continental Perspectives on Community: Human Coexistence from Unity to Plurality, Routledge.

Gürsoy, Yaprak (2022) ‘’, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, pp. 1-20.

Gürsoy, Yaprak (2021) '', Journal of Contemporary Asia, 51:1, pp. 157-178.

Jackson-Preece, Jennifer and Bhambra, Manmit (2021) , 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre Paper Series (50), 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre, London, UK.

Jackson-Preece, Jennifer (2018) '', In: Ulasiuk, I., Hadirca, L. and Romans, W., (eds.) Language Policy and Conflict Prevention, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands, pp. 231-250.

Kleine, Mareike (2018) '', Nature Human Behaviour, 2(317).

Krasniqi, Vjollca, Sokolic, Ivor, and Kostovicova, Denisa (2020) '', Nations and Nationalism, 26(2), pp. 461-476.

Kostovicova, Denisa (2019) '', Journal of Global Security Studies, 4(2). pp. 273-278.

Hughes, James and Kostovicova, Denisa (eds.) (2018) , Ethnic and racial studies, Routledge, Abingdon, UK.

Lorimer, Marta (2019) ‘’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(11), pp. 2016-2033.

Monastiriotis, Vassilis and Tunali, Cigdem Borke (2020) '', Open Economies Review, 31(2), pp. 273 - 294.

Połońska-Kimunguyi, Eva (2022) '', Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(3).

Połońska-Kimunguyi, Eva and Kimunguyi, Patrick (2018) ‘’, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 30, pp. 1-25.

Rosina, Matilde (2022) , Palgrave Macmillan.

Rosina, Matilde (2019) ‘’, in Talani, Leila, S. and Roccu, Roberto (eds.), The Dark Side of Globalisation, Palgrave Macmillan London, pp. 85-120.

Thielemann, Eiko R. and Zaun, Natascha (2018) '', Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(4), pp. 906-922.

Vuolajärvi, Niina (2018) '', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(97), pp. 1090–1107.

Zaun, Natascha and Nantermoz, Olivia (2021) '', Journal of European Public Policy, 29(4), pp. 510-529.

Kira Gartzou-Katsouyanni, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow
Xinchuchu Gao, Fellow in European Political Economy
Simon Glendinning, Professor in European Philosophy
Yaprak Gürsoy, Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies
Jennifer Jackson-Preece, Associate Professor in Nationalism
Mareike Kleine, Associate Professor in EU and International Politics
Denisa Kostovicova, Associate Professor in Global Politics
Marta Lorimer, Fellow in European Politics
Angelo Martelli, Assistant Professor in European and International Political Economy
Vassilis Monastiriotis, Associate Professor in Political Economy
Eva Polonska-Kimunguyi, Fellow in European Politics
Vesna Popovski, Fellow in Conflict and Post-Conflict Studies
Matilde Rosina, Fellow in International Migration
Eiko Thielemann, Associate Professor in Political Science and Public Policy
Niina Vuolajärvi, Assistant Professor in International Migration
Natascha Zaun, Assistant Professor in Migration Studies

Policy briefs:

Hangartner, Dominik, Martelli, Angelo. and Malaeb, Bilal (2021), G20, Task Force 10 Migration.

Blog posts:

Kostovicova, Denisa and Kerr, Rachel (2022) , 杏吧论坛 European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) blog, 13 May.

Połońska-Kimunguyi, Eva (2022) , Media@杏吧论坛 blog, 10 May.

Jackson-Preece, Jennifer and Bhambra, Manmit (2018) , 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre blog, 15 October.

Media:

Gürsoy, Yaprak (2020) '', The Conversation, 22 April.

Gürsoy, Yaprak and Toygür, Ilke (2018) '', Real Instituto Elcano, 11 June.

Public Events:

Dr Manmit Bhambra, Dr Jennifer Jackson-Preece, Dr Dima Issa and Dr Polly Withers (2021) 'In-between Identities and Cultures: Ms Marvel and the Representation of Young Muslim Women', hosted by the Middle East Centre, 19 October.

Dr Dominik Hangartner, Bilal Malaeb, Shaden Khallaf, Tauhid Pasha and Dr Angelo Martelli (2020) 'Human Mobility: towards enhanced integration and social cohesion', hosted by the Institute of Global Affairs, the School of Public Policy and the Centre for Economic Policy, 9 December.