Marie Skłodowska-Curie Project
Invisible Edges of Citizenship: Re-addressing the position of Romani Minorities in Europe -InviCitRom
My Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Project questions why the position of Roma in Europe keeps deteriorating despite all the (inter)national efforts put into its improvement. Roma persist as the main targets of ethnic discrimination and are faced by severe socio-economic inequalities throughout Europe. This project recognizes the urgent need to readdress the position of Roma at the times, when most of the programmes for their integration are nearing its conclusion (such as the Decade for Roma Inclusion 2005-2015) and when their intra-European mobility is being particularly problematized. By employing interdisciplinary quantitative and qualitative methodology and theoretical conceptualizations from the perspective of citizenship studies, this project aims to offer a novel insight into the position of Roma in Europe. The project investigates different dimensions of citizenship (rights, dimensions, belonging) in order to show that Roma are not an exception or a minority that simply ‘does not fit’ and is hence excluded from society. I seek to develop a new theoretical perspective to support the above claim: I argue that there are certain institutional mechanisms, that I call as invisible edges of citizenship involved in the production of the marginalization of Romani minorities in all European states where they reside either as citizens or migrants. Instead of only offering selected case studies, this research aims to offer a cross-country comparative analysis of citizenship and minority acts as well as Roma National Strategies and the experience of Romani individuals themselves with the invisible edges of citizenship. The results of this research will be relevant both for academics as well as policymakers: I will prepare a cross-country database on approaches to minority protection and major challenges connected to the position of Roma, 2 journal articles and a book manuscript.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 705768.
Current research
In present times, ever more people dream of not being tied up to a certain state and becoming ‘citizens of everywhere’. This post-national dream entails crossing boundaries with great ease and being able to integrate without obstacles. Only a small number of people can actually live the dream of being 'citizens of everywhere'. But, in order to become a ‘citizens of everywhere’, you still need to initially be a ‘citizen of somewhere’.
Not being recognized as a 'citizen of somewhere' and being a ‘citizen of nowhere’ is a rather nightmarish reality for at least 10 million people around the globe. Indicatively the most recent data shows that more than 75 percent of these individuals belong to a minority group. Not all minorities are vulnerable to statelessness, but particularly those who have in the past been either discriminated or marginalized, such as the Romani minorities in Europe. These alarming findings call both for a novel theoretical as well as a practical reconsideration of why are minorities over-represented among stateless people and what are the different shades of statelessness they are facing.
» Also published at statelessness.eu