Global governance, economic migration and the difficulties of social activism

Abstract

There has been a gradual shift towards greater global governance of labour migration, a development paralleled by the mushrooming of migrant and civil society associations concerned to uphold a rights-based approach to migration. Yet the emergent global governance structures offer few opportunities for advocacy by migrant and civil society organizations. This article explores the reasons why social activism by or on behalf of economic migrants remains difficult. The article focuses in particular on the obstacles in the way of access to global institutions and to migrant voice, the complexity and ambiguity of the increasingly multi-sited governance structure and the difficulties of placing rights at its centre, all of which mean that formal mechanisms of global governance with regard to migration remain exclusionary and migrant activism part of the critical resistance to contemporary globalization rather than an insider element of governance.

Post-nationalism re-considered: a case study of the ‘No One Is Illegal’ movement in Canada

“…My project focuses on the discursive framing process, defined as 'conscious strategic efforts by groups of people to fashion shared understandings of the world and of themselves that legitimate and motivate collective action' (Keck andSikkink 1998, Snow andBenford 1988). 4 Based on inductive analysis of NOII Toronto's DADT campaign, I identified NOII's use of a human rights framing as a central discursive strategy deployed by movement activists in order to mobilize a broad range of constituents and garner national media attention; this finding is supported by recent research that cites the intentional use of human rights discourse by NOII and other 'no borders' movements to bolster claims against the state (Basok 2009, Cook 2010, Grugel and Piper 2011. Social movement scholars have examined the usefulness of human rights frames for mobilizing a broad range of constituents across varying cultural and political contexts, thereby bolstering efforts to hold states accountable (Keck and Sikkink 1998, Jenness and Grattet 2001, Grugel and Piper 2011.…”

“…4 Based on inductive analysis of NOII Toronto's DADT campaign, I identified NOII's use of a human rights framing as a central discursive strategy deployed by movement activists in order to mobilize a broad range of constituents and garner national media attention; this finding is supported by recent research that cites the intentional use of human rights discourse by NOII and other 'no borders' movements to bolster claims against the state (Basok 2009, Cook 2010, Grugel and Piper 2011. Social movement scholars have examined the usefulness of human rights frames for mobilizing a broad range of constituents across varying cultural and political contexts, thereby bolstering efforts to hold states accountable (Keck and Sikkink 1998, Jenness and Grattet 2001, Grugel and Piper 2011. The human rights methodology, for example, uses information or facts, combined with dramatic testimony, in order to establish credibility (through facts) and put a 'human face' on statistics (through narrative), leading to action motivation (Keck and Sikkink 1998, p. 22).…”

“…Post-national social movements: challenges and opportunities Social movements offer an important empirical site for examining how normative aspirations get translated into actionable claims against the state (Snow and Benford 1988, Ferree 2003, Smith 2004, Snow 2004, Grugel and Piper 2011. My project focuses on the discursive framing process, defined as 'conscious strategic efforts by groups of people to fashion shared understandings of the world and of themselves that legitimate and motivate collective action' (Keck andSikkink 1998, Snow andBenford 1988).…”

Disciplining the Transnational Mobility of People

“…Within the emerging migration-management paradigm, the direction of policy making on labour migration at the global level is predominantly shaped by state preferences and characterized by macroeconomic concerns while sidelining the social costs of migration for migrants and their families (Chi, 2008;Grugel and Piper, 2011). As a result, greater focus is placed on controlling access to labour markets and extracting economic benefits from it than on protecting migrants from rights violations stemming from exploitative practices by recruitment agencies and employers; a lack of job mobility in most temporary migration schemes; the dead-end, low-skilled jobs most migrants end up performing; non-coverage by labour legislation, especially in the case of domestic workers; separation from families for prolonged periods of time and the specific vulnerability of being undocumented when absconding from abusive employers or overstaying a short-term visa.…”

Negotiating Solidarity: Collective Actions for Precarious Migrant Workers’ Rights in Sweden

“…One example is that of temporary migrants, who due to the transnational nature of their predicament need to establish paths to institutions beyond the nation state. For this progression to occur, it is imperative to bring together activist networks in both the countries of arrival and origin, as well as to establish relations to a wider array of movements centring on social justice (Grugel and Piper, 2011).…”