Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies最新文献

Sometimes 'mixed methods designs' are considered a winner for obtaining research grants, but a close-to-certain reject when publishing. Evidently, reality is more complex. At the same time, these considerations are grounded in actual experiences, observations and the structure of our epistemic community. In this contribution, we will reflect on this structure, particularly in ethnic and migration studies, as such reflection is particularly interesting for a case that is strongly interdisciplinary, which might pave the way as well as lead to double jeopardy (running into reviewers disliking the method and the disciplinary perspective). First, we will sketch a (quantitative) background of the definition and prevalence of mixed methods research in ethnic and migration journals. Next, and based on migration scholars' experiences with mixed methods research and often heard ideas, we will chart and discuss the structural barriers that hamper mixed methods research (from journal word counts to unqualified reviewers). Third, based on these barriers or hurdles as we will label them, both structural and practical solutions are discussed, leading to a wish list for facilitating high-quality mixed methods research.

This article introduces the framework of predatory rentierism to account for pervasive but under-theorized forms of violence and their perpetrators across the process of irregular migration. Predatory rentierism is the practice of deriving gains from the ownership or control of scarce assets in a manner that threatens the renter's basic rights, and it can take various forms, from extortion and bribery to usurious loans and ransoms. Drawing on ethnographic observation and 70 semi-structured and in-depth interviews in Guatemala and the U.S., I demonstrate how predatory rentierism interpenetrates each node in the migration trajectory, thriving on the intersecting marginalities of irregular migrants. I argue that the predatory rentierism framework helps to surface under-examined drivers of migration, make sense of transit and integration experiences, and contribute to understanding why remittances can fail to produce sustainable hometown development. I close by outlining future directions for studying predatory rentierism in irregular migration.

The European Union (EU) experienced two major instances of refugee influx: in 2015, refugees, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq fled civil war, persecution, and dire conditions in neighbouring countries and in 2022, Ukrainians fled from Russia's full-scale invasion. Fusing theoretical insights on framing and crisification of migration, we ask: How do EU actors frame situations of refugee mass influx? Employing a Discourse Network Analysis, we examine EU representatives' framing of both instances with respect to three analytical foci: (1) who or what they considered to be in crisis, (2) their framing of refugees; and (3) who they saw to be responsible for solving the crisis. We show how, in 2015, EU representatives framed mass displacement predominantly as a crisis at and of Europe's borders, and refugees as threats to Member States' public, economic and cultural security. In contrast, in 2022, crisis framings are almost absent or pertain to Ukraine's - and by extension the EU's - security. Ukrainian protection seekers are framed as ethnically and culturally similar and their protection as a humanitarian imperative. Our analysis empirically substantiates debates about double standards in refugee governance and draws attention to actor constellations and the factors that shape crisification of mobility.

This article attends to the emotional resonances of 'stuckedness' and (in)voluntary return as experienced by Nicaraguan migrants stranded in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling both figuratively and literally trapped in a context of cascading lockdowns, border closures, and travel restrictions, many viewed Spain's Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme as offering a choice to 'freely' depart Spain - a way to simultaneously leave their distressing circumstances behind while returning to the comfort of 'home' and family. Building on recent literature that challenges the basis for participation in such programmes as founded on free, voluntary, and individual decisions, this article contends that, for some, the act of 'choosing' to return generates a profound and unexpected emotional response. In the case of a Nicaraguan migrant woman explored in detail here, the execution of said return activates feelings of relief, euphoria, and hope, as well as a renewed sense of self. Nevertheless, her response is temporally and geographically contingent, as returning to Nicaragua via AVRR does not necessarily diminish her desire to remigrate or render her less 'stuck'. The empirical material that informs this paper was collected through digital ethnography and in-person encounters in both Spain and Nicaragua between 2020 and 2021.

State authorities in Europe invest immense resources in what the EU insists on calling the 'fight against illegal migration'. Based on ethnographic research in two German cities, this paper shows that a tough approach towards illegalised migration can only be implemented through state practices that operate at the margins of, or even cross, the boundaries of what is legally permissible. This argument is developed through an analysis of informal practices that frontline staff in registry offices and migration administrations deploy to prevent, or at least disturb, illegalised migrants' attempts to regularise their status by becoming the parent of child that is entitled to German citizenship. Drawing on the autonomy of migration approach, I use migrants' struggles within and against Germany's migration and citizenship regime as an epistemic device to expose three kinds of informally institutionalised counter-tactics of street-level bureaucrats that qualify as unlawfare. The analysis shows that officials, in their attempts to forestall migrants' practices of self-legalisation, frequently resort to practices that are legally questionable or outright unlawful themselves. Ultimately, not only a tough stance on illegalised migration, but the very production of migrant illegality emerges as contagious as it implicates an illegalisation of state practices.

The European migration control regime claims to strife for 'orderly' and safe conditions of migration, yet systematically generates the opposite. This paper explores the role of informality in creating solutions to enable control and produce order in the European migration control regime by examining two areas of border policy characterised by high degrees of regulation and contestation : the implementation of the Dublin III Regulation (2013) and transnational negotiations over readmission agreements between European states and deportable people's assumed countries of origin. We focus on Sweden and Switzerland, two countries perceived as having high degrees of 'formality' in their migration control regimes, and draw on ethnographic material generated between 2015 and 2018 in Swiss and Swedish migration control agencies. We demonstrate the central role of informality in making formal regulations 'work'. The Dublin Regulation necessitates tacit toleration of informality to be enforced, and readmission agreements rely on informal, transnational politics that neither follow migration law nor respectthe rights and lives of people on the move. The article underscores the importance of debunking the myth of an 'orderly' migration control regime, informality is what makes European migration control 'work', often to the detriment of people on the move.

Increased alcohol intake over decades leads to progressive alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and contributes to increased mortality. It is characterized by reduced platelet count. Platelets have a role in protecting vascular integrity and involved in liver regeneration. Alcohol affects the platelet count and its function. Platelet function is regulated by their proteins, released during pathophysiological conditions. Therefore, platelet proteome plays a vital role during ALD. This preliminary study consists of 10 patients with ALD. It includes the preparation of human platelets for the proteomic approach. We performed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the samples. A total of 536 proteins were identified in patients with ALD of which 31 proteins were mentioned as a candidate based on their clinical significance. The advancement of diagnostic or therapeutic tools based on the application of platelet proteins in ALD is still far off. Platform for platelet and its proteome research may give diagnostic and prognostic insights into ALD. Platelet proteomes could possibly be concluded as therapeutic and potential diagnostic or prognostic markers in ALD.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12291-023-01120-9.