Immigration and Citizenship in an Enlarged European Union The Political Dynamics of Intra-EU Mobility

Immigration has become one of the most significant and emotionally charged social and political issues of contemporary Europe. Public and political debates on immigration, however, differ greatly. This book asks how and why differences arise by examining public debates on Romanian migrants and the Roma minority in Italy and Spain. In so doing, it reveals what it means to become a citizen of an enlarging European Union facing economic crisis.

McMahon's study shows how political responses to immigration and negotiation of the terms of citizenship are mediated by political positioning and claims making. It is a contextual and contested process, and often therefore tells us more about the political dynamics in the host country than about the immigrants themselves. Analysing three levels of these dynamics: the national, the local dimension in the capital cities of Rome and Madrid and the cross-border dimension of transnational political and social relations, this book provides a rich insight into the politics of citizenship and will be a valuable resource to scholars of Political Science, Sociology, Political Economy and Anthropology.

Simon McMahon has been a Visiting Researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy and the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. He has also carried out policy work for major public institutions in the UK, taught politics in the UK and the Czech Republic, and worked on community engagement and development projects in Guadalajara, Mexico.

1. Introduction: The Politics of Immigration and Citizenship in an Enlarging European Union
2. Defining who is who in the politics of immigration
3. The Structural Context of Immigration to Italy and Spain
4. The National Politics of immigration in Italy and Spain
5. The Local Politics of Immigration in Rome and Madrid
6. Intra-Eu Migrant Politics in Italy and Spain
7. The politics of the Roma in Italy and Spain
8. Conclusions: Becoming citizens of an expanding European Union