2. Sex and the regulation of belonging: Dutch family migration policies in the context of changing family norms

The Power and Morals of Policy Makers: Reassessing the Control Gap Debate

“…The judicial objection of the 1980s to preventive control of sham marriages and strict visa requirements was overcome in the 1990s through legislative reform. (Van Walsum, 2008:218–219, 229) The recent ruling by the European Court of Justice discussed above was probably the most significant judiciary intervention into Dutch family migration policies ever: it was made possible by the introduction of Community law in this field in 2003. The control exercised by the courts was certainly not stricter in the 1980s than it is today: the jurisprudence of the European Court in Strasbourg was not very developed yet, and the European Court of Justice was not yet competent.…”

Introduction

“…National identities in Europe today are construed in opposition to the perceived culture and identity of migrants, epitomized by the "migrant"-especially "Muslim"-family. Whereas the "Western" family is imagined as modern, emancipated, and egalitarian, the "migrant" family is associated with tradition, patriarchy, oppression, and even violence (Bonjour & de Hart, 2013;Raissiguier, 2013;Rytter, 2013, p. 204;Van Walsum, 2008). This "unintegrable" family (Grillo, 2008, p. 24), where "deviant" practices such as polygamy and female circumcision are produced and reproduced, is seen to pose a threat not only to the autonomy of individual migrants but also to "social order" (Gedalof, 2007) and to the "national self" (Schmidt, 2011, p. 271).…”

“…191-192). Family migration policies are shaped in fundamental ways by dominant norms about what the roles of men and women ought to be, what marriage ought to be, what parenting ought to be, and what family ought to be (Bonjour & de Hart, 2013;Strasser, Kraler, Bonjour, & Bilger, 2009;Van Walsum, 2008;Wray, 2011).Thus, in most European countries the dominance of the nuclear family model results in very restricted admission for family members other than the spouse and minor children. Also common is the obligation on the sponsoring spouse to earn a minimum income, placing the migrant spouse in a position of dependency that is reminiscent of the traditional breadwinner model (Strasser et al, 2009).…”

Disciplining the Transnational Mobility of People, MartinGeiger and AntoinePécoud (eds), International Political Economy Series, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2013. No of pages: xii + 259, Price: $105.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-137-26306-3 (hardback)

“…In particular, marriage migration management produces discourses about ‘real love’ or ‘normal marriage’ that are then invoked to impose barriers to certain couples. D'Aoust offers a very rich account that could be further enriched with a thicker historisation and sociology of class, as performed by Sarah van Walsum (). One strength though is how she connects the theme of technologies of love with the politics of protection, in a situation where barriers are often justified to protect women from forced marriages.…”