Against all odds: Thessaloniki’s local policy activism in the reception and integration of forced migrants

Why do local governments develop policies for the reception and integration of forced migrants? What strategies do they employ in pursuing their own policy objectives in this field, especially within restrictive institutional and financial frameworks? In this article, I use an assemblage approach and insights from extensive desk and field research to study the successful migration policy activism of the Municipality of Thessaloniki in Greece. I argue that the initiatives of mayors and access to external funds can both trigger and facilitate the development of local reception and integration policies. In addition, I argue that horizontal and vertical coalitions with local, transnational and international partners may help local governments effectively exploit their space for discretion in migration and integration policy-making. Based on my findings, I emphasise the need to further examine the emerging relationships between United Nations (UN) organisations and local authorities in the field of migration governance. Furthermore, I advocate a broader application of the assemblage approach in migration policy research

Of Bastions and Bulwarks: A Multi-Scalar Understanding of Local Bordering Practices in Europe

In recent years, local authorities in Europe have increasingly developed bordering practices that hinder or further migrant rights, such as the freedom of movement. They bypass national borders by facilitating refugee resettlement, they claim local space to welcome or shun certain migrants, and they develop or break down local impediments to migrant mobility. These local practices, we argue, can best be understood from a multiscalar perspective, which considers processes of placemaking as reproductive of power dynamics. Applying such a perspective to local bordering practices in Greece, Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, we point out the importance of the multitude of the actors involved; legal pluralism; and the contextual role of social, economic, and spatial factors. This offers a theoretical foothold for understanding the power dynamics at play when local authorities become bastions or bulwarks, in which some migrants are welcomed, and others are not

The role of local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants: evidence from Greece

This article focuses on the role of local political leadership in municipal policy responses to the arrival of forced migrants. Initially, I bring together insights from research on leadership, migration and crisis management to develop a conceptual framework for studying local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants. To this end, I adopt an interactionist perspective and define local political leadership as the product of the interaction between mayors and their leadership environment (institutional and societal context). Subsequently, I apply this conceptual framework to a qualitative comparative case study, using data from desk research and fieldwork in two Greek municipalities. The findings indicate that differences in local political leadership can lead to the development of very different municipal policy responses in the field of forced migrants’ reception. In particular, I argue that by exercising interactive and multilevel political leadership, mayors can increase their chances of advancing strategic policy objectives in migration governance, and by extension, strengthen the protection and fulfilment of migrants’ fundamental rights. Finally, in the light of the conceptual and empirical insights arising from this research, I emphasize the need to improve the dialogue between leadership and migration scholars, and suggest questions for future research

Local authorities, human rights and the reception and integration of forced migrants in Greece and Italy

This dissertation yields insights into two rather recent, quickly expanding, and closely related research areas: the role of municipalities in the reception and integration of forced migrants, and the rise and proliferation of human rights cities. It comprises of five stand-alone and at the same time interrelated treatises that highlight the way local authorities in Greece and Italy contributed to the protection and fulfilment of forced migrants’ fundamental rights amidst and after 2015’s ‘long summer of migration’. It presents the results of an interdisciplinary desk and empirical research, which integrates conceptual and theoretical insights from migration and refugee studies, international human rights law, leadership studies, local government studies, urban policy-making, and crisis management literature. Overall, the dissertation highlights municipal attempts to design and implement policies that facilitate the short-term reception and long-term integration of forced migrants into local communities in a human rights-conforming way. Several aspects stand out: a) the reasons that prompt local authorities to engage in migration governance matters that fall outside their institutional mandate (e.g. local pragmatism, opportunities for local development); b) the protagonists behind instances of municipal policy activism in the reception and integration of forced migrants (mayors, municipal officials); c) the strategies that local authorities apply to strengthen the protection of forced migrants’ human rights on the ground (e.g., collaboration with civil society, international organisations); d) the motives behind local authorities’ engagement with human rights as law, practice, and discourse in the field of migration governance (e.g., political conflicts with higher levels of government). The findings demonstrate that local authorities, even when situated within very restrictive institutional and financial contexts, have significant potential to directly influence the on-the-ground governance of forced migration. A good example in this respect is the ‘against-all-odds’ municipal policy activism of the Thessaloniki in Greece. In addition, the findings highlight the relevance of mayoral leadership to improving forced migrants' reception conditions and strengthening the protection of their fundamental rights. Lastly, the findings show that at times when legal and institutional frameworks at higher levels underdeliver, local authorities and their political leaders can step in and effectively address human rights deficits in the field of migration – as in the case of the Italian city of Bologna. In conclusion, the dissertation offers several lessons for local-level politicians and practitioners, which can assist them in overcoming structural constraints and developing human rights-based strategies for the reception and integration of forced migrants. Among these are: the proactive use of discretion on behalf of mayors in the field of migration governance; broad coalition-building with like-minded partners, locally and transnationally, to access know-how and external funding; and the timely institutionalisation of project-based initiatives

Local authorities, human rights and the reception and integration of forced migrants in Greece and Italy

This dissertation yields insights into two rather recent, quickly expanding, and closely related research areas: the role of municipalities in the reception and integration of forced migrants, and the rise and proliferation of human rights cities. It comprises of five stand-alone and at the same time interrelated treatises that highlight the way local authorities in Greece and Italy contributed to the protection and fulfilment of forced migrants’ fundamental rights amidst and after 2015’s ‘long summer of migration’. It presents the results of an interdisciplinary desk and empirical research, which integrates conceptual and theoretical insights from migration and refugee studies, international human rights law, leadership studies, local government studies, urban policy-making, and crisis management literature. Overall, the dissertation highlights municipal attempts to design and implement policies that facilitate the short-term reception and long-term integration of forced migrants into local communities in a human rights-conforming way. Several aspects stand out: a) the reasons that prompt local authorities to engage in migration governance matters that fall outside their institutional mandate (e.g. local pragmatism, opportunities for local development); b) the protagonists behind instances of municipal policy activism in the reception and integration of forced migrants (mayors, municipal officials); c) the strategies that local authorities apply to strengthen the protection of forced migrants’ human rights on the ground (e.g., collaboration with civil society, international organisations); d) the motives behind local authorities’ engagement with human rights as law, practice, and discourse in the field of migration governance (e.g., political conflicts with higher levels of government). The findings demonstrate that local authorities, even when situated within very restrictive institutional and financial contexts, have significant potential to directly influence the on-the-ground governance of forced migration. A good example in this respect is the ‘against-all-odds’ municipal policy activism of the Thessaloniki in Greece. In addition, the findings highlight the relevance of mayoral leadership to improving forced migrants' reception conditions and strengthening the protection of their fundamental rights. Lastly, the findings show that at times when legal and institutional frameworks at higher levels underdeliver, local authorities and their political leaders can step in and effectively address human rights deficits in the field of migration – as in the case of the Italian city of Bologna. In conclusion, the dissertation offers several lessons for local-level politicians and practitioners, which can assist them in overcoming structural constraints and developing human rights-based strategies for the reception and integration of forced migrants. Among these are: the proactive use of discretion on behalf of mayors in the field of migration governance; broad coalition-building with like-minded partners, locally and transnationally, to access know-how and external funding; and the timely institutionalisation of project-based initiatives

The causes and consequences of administrative burdens in the Canadian Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program

This article explores the administrative burdens that refugee sponsors experience in their interaction with the state in the context of the Canadian Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Drawing on primary and secondary qualitative data, we show that over four decades of program implementation, the sponsorship application process has become more complex, resource intensive, and time-consuming for sponsors, subverting otherwise positive sponsorship experiences. Our findings contribute to theoretical debates in administrative burdens research and indicate an acute need for administrative changes that would simplify the application process for sponsors, thus sustaining and nurturing the broad public interest in the program

The path of least resistance? EU cities and locally organised resettlement

The scaling up of locally organised, city-led routes to resettlement could form part of a larger solution to Europe’s current political crisis and deadlock around migration

Strategies of divergence: Local authorities, law, and discretionary spaces in migration governance

This article classifies and theorizes the strategies of divergence that local authorities employ when confronting the discretionary spaces offered by domestic migration law. We propose a distinction between strategies that are either within or outside the perceived boundaries of the law and those that adopt an explicit or an implicit approach to positioning, thus harnessing or downplaying the communicative potential of the law. Based thereon, we introduce a fourfold typology of strategies of divergences that include defiance, dodging, deviation, and dilution. This typology was developed and refined based on field research in local authorities in Greece, Turkey, Italy, and The Netherlands. The case material also leads us into a preliminary exploration of which types of cities and conditions may lead to the adoption of one strategy over another. As such, this article draws attention to the relevance of law within multi-level migration governance and to the meaning of legal ambiguity and discretion as shaped by law and legal interpretation. The strategies of divergence that mould discretionary spaces, in turn, either mitigate or exacerbate legal uncertainty and should be considered a significant factor to account for change in migration governance

Strategies of divergence: Local authorities, law, and discretionary spaces in migration governance

This article classifies and theorizes the strategies of divergence that local authorities employ when confronting the discretionary spaces offered by domestic migration law. We propose a distinction between strategies that are either within or outside the perceived boundaries of the law and those that adopt an explicit or an implicit approach to positioning, thus harnessing or downplaying the communicative potential of the law. Based thereon, we introduce a fourfold typology of strategies of divergences that include defiance, dodging, deviation, and dilution. This typology was developed and refined based on field research in local authorities in Greece, Turkey, Italy, and The Netherlands. The case material also leads us into a preliminary exploration of which types of cities and conditions may lead to the adoption of one strategy over another. As such, this article draws attention to the relevance of law within multi-level migration governance and to the meaning of legal ambiguity and discretion as shaped by law and legal interpretation. The strategies of divergence that mould discretionary spaces, in turn, either mitigate or exacerbate legal uncertainty and should be considered a significant factor to account for change in migration governance

The role of local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants: evidence from Greece

This article focuses on the role of local political leadership in municipal policy responses to the arrival of forced migrants. Initially, I bring together insights from research on leadership, migration and crisis management to develop a conceptual framework for studying local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants. To this end, I adopt an interactionist perspective and define local political leadership as the product of the interaction between mayors and their leadership environment (institutional and societal context). Subsequently, I apply this conceptual framework to a qualitative comparative case study, using data from desk research and fieldwork in two Greek municipalities. The findings indicate that differences in local political leadership can lead to the development of very different municipal policy responses in the field of forced migrants’ reception. In particular, I argue that by exercising interactive and multilevel political leadership, mayors can increase their chances of advancing strategic policy objectives in migration governance, and by extension, strengthen the protection and fulfilment of migrants’ fundamental rights. Finally, in the light of the conceptual and empirical insights arising from this research, I emphasize the need to improve the dialogue between leadership and migration scholars, and suggest questions for future research