Comparative Politics

B19(a) - Migration, Borders, and Belonging

Date: Jun 5 | Time: 01:45pm to 03:15pm | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Clareta Treger (University of Toronto)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Charles Larratt Smith (The University of Texas at El Paso)

Running the Gauntlet: The Externalization of U.S. Immigration Policy and The Victimization of the Migrant Population in Mexico: Charles Larratt-Smith (The University of Texas at El Paso)
Abstract: In recent years, millions of Latin Americans have fled their countries of origin to seek peace and economic stability abroad, with a considerable number of these seeking to immigrate to the United States with no formal visas and minimal economic resources at their disposal. Invariably, these migrants transit through Mexico en route to the United States and each step of the way they find themselves victimized by state and non-state actors alike in a myriad of ways. Based on fieldwork in southern (Tapachula), central (Puebla), and northern (Ciudad Juárez) Mexico, this paper assesses how the externalization of U.S. border enforcement policies to Mexico inadvertently has created an immigration regime that creates greater opportunities for bad faith actors to monetize the vulnerability of the migrant population in this country.

The Counter-Judicialization of Migration and Asylum Controls: Safe Third Country Agreements in Comparative Context: Geoffrey Cameron (Univeristy of Guelph), Kiran Banerjee (Dalhousie University)
Abstract: This paper bridges research on the dynamics of judicialization and changes to asylum and immigration controls across Western liberal democracies. Research on judicialization finds that the expanding role of the courts and judicial processes encroaches on the authority of other branches of government. It suggests that the rise of constitutionalism and the globalization of legal norms have empowered courts to increasingly intervene in public policy. We discuss the case of asylum policy in Western liberal democracies as an example of judicialization, where key aspects of immigration policy became judicialized in response to international law via domestic court rulings and the creation of administrative tribunals. However, this case also reveals more recent efforts by states to engage in counter-judicialization by developing international agreements that restore authority and discretion over asylum policy to the executive and legislative branches of government. We examine processes of counter-judicialization by analyzing the politics of the safe third country agreement between Canada and the US (2002; 2023), placing this case in comparative perspective with the EU-Turkey deal and the Greek Joint Ministerial Decision (2016, 2021) and the Australian “Pacific Solution” (2001-2008; 2012). While these agreements and decisions have faced court challenges, they have been largely sustained as legally legitimate frameworks, often by appealing to soft law standards articulated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee. These cases demonstrate how states use international law in order to evade domestic constitutional challenges to the counter-judicial restoration of executive and legislative authority.

The Impact of NGOs and International Organizations: A Comparative Analysis of the Syrian and Ukrainian Crises: Bilgen Turkay (University of Cincinnati), Rebecca Sanders (University of Cincinnati)
Abstract: Millions of people have been forced to leave their home countries and seek asylum in other nations due to civil wars and international conflicts. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, over 14 million Syrians have sought refuge in different countries. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nearly 6.5 million Ukrainians have crossed into other countries around the world. While the political climates in Syria and Ukraine are different, many fled from both countries to find safety. The displacement of large numbers of people required governments to take immediate action, working with NGOs and international organizations. These entities play a pivotal role in shaping refugee dynamics, which is evident in the varied responses to the crises. This research embraces a multi-method approach, adopting qualitative interviews and quantitative social media analysis. Focusing on Canada as a case country, it explores the responses of NGOs and international organizations during the Syrian and Ukrainian crises. In addition, it investigates the factors that impact their decision-making strategies. Contributing to the comparative politics field, this study sheds light on the complexities of refugee protection and humanitarian response strategies.

Migration, Labour, and Belonging: Exploring the effects of Russian migrant labour in Kazakhstan at the onset of the War: Arina Dmitrenko (University of Toronto)
Abstract: This paper examines the lived experiences of locals and voluntarily displaced people across the Eurasian space as a result of the Ukraine-Russia War. Through examining online networks and conducting online interviews, the paper seeks to understand how migrants who enter and change the labour environment in Kazakhstan navigate opportunities for belonging; in this case, how they express anti-war sentiments. The significant influx of (mostly) financially-able individuals from Russia has shocked labour and housing markets in urban areas, creating new market competition as well as disrupting the ongoing economic development in cities. The growing presence of foreigners has aggravated and accentuated identity tensions, emphasizing ethnic, linguistic, and class cleavages. Yet, both foreigners and locals express anti-war sentiments – just in varying ways. This paper asks: how do changes in the labour market in Kazakhstan affect or empower anti-war sentiment expression amongst migrants and locals? I argue that migrants’ actions speak louder than their words, showcasing a differing anti-war expression from that of the locals, who resort to verbal sentiments. I note that shocks to the labour market in Kazakhstan are instrumentalized in some ways for digital and economic expansion. At the core of this research is the story of labour migration as a story of continuity between the pre and post-Soviet periods, taking into account the history of labour mobility across that space.