An integrated strings model of transnational advocacy: case studies from Romania and the United Kingdom

Studies of transnational advocacy mainly explore separate processes – e.g. the use of persuasion, socialization, leverage, incentives and penalties – through which specific actors influence policy and law at national and transnational levels. These processes can be seen as strings pulled by the actors involved in order to promote their aims. However, the existing literature stops short of explaining the dynamics of advocacy across time, the number of strings necessary for inducing change and the failure of advocacy. In order to address these shortcomings this thesis analyses the interactions between various processes that constitute transnational advocacy and proposes a conceptual model – labelled the integrated strings model of advocacy – to facilitate the understanding of the dynamics of advocacy. This model suggests that transnational advocacy is constituted by the following interlinked processes, labelled stages and strings in order to emphasize their dynamics: - The stages are: the making of pilot or past solutions-in-practice, problematization, the development of a common frame for possible solutions, the creation of solutions-on-paper and the making of solutions-in-practice; - These stages are constituted by six strings: the creation of social enterprises, the use of expertise, regulations, technology, the formation of alliances and the marketization of ideas and services. This model provides a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of advocacy than the existing literature and explains why some advocacy processes were successful while other failed. The model is illustrated through three case studies of advocacy focused on: (a) heritage conservation and sustainable development in Romania; (b) children’s rights in Romania; and (c) access to the UK’ labour market for Romanian migrants in Britain. The integrated model was developed through empirical multi-sited research conducted in Romania and the UK. My methodology was influenced by multi-sited ethnography (Marcus 1998), grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin 1990) and actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Latour 2005)

A Continent Moving West? EU Enlargement and Labour Migration from Central and Eastern Europe

A Continent Moving West? argues that the conceptualization of migration as a one-way or long-term process is becoming increasingly wide of the mark. Rather, east-west labor migration in Europe, in common perhaps with other flows in and from other parts of the world, is diverse, fluid, and influenced by the dynamics of local and sector-specific labor markets and migration-related political regulations

Understanding migration as a driver of poverty reduction in Europe and Central Asia

This paper reports on the findings of a survey conducted by the Sussex Centre for Migration Research on migration and poverty in three regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2006. The research included a review of available literature, and field-level discussions with policy-makers in four countries/territories (Moldova, Tajikistan, Kosovo and Georgia). For each of the three regions (Western Balkans, the ‘European Neighbourhood’ and Central Asia), the paper explores the context of poverty and development and general migration trends, before focusing on policies orientated towards migration management, and the broader impact of migration on poverty. It concludes with a number of policy recommendations. Four further working papers complement this paper, each on one of the case study countries mentioned above

Understanding migration as a driver of poverty reduction in Europe and Central Asia

This paper reports on the findings of a survey conducted by the Sussex Centre for Migration Research on migration and poverty in three regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2006. The research included a review of available literature, and field-level discussions with policy-makers in four countries/territories (Moldova, Tajikistan, Kosovo and Georgia). For each of the three regions (Western Balkans, the 'European Neighbourhood' and Central Asia), the paper explores the context of poverty and development and general migration trends, before focusing on policies orientated towards migration management, and the broader impact of migration on poverty. It concludes with a number of policy recommendations. Four further working papers complement this paper, each on one of the case study countries mentioned above