Research news

Centre for Migration, Diversity and Justice organises Migration Lecture Series

The Brussels Interdisciplinary Research centre on Migration and Minorities (BIRMM), in collaboration with the Jean Monnet Chair EXPAND and EDGE (VUB), have set up a Migration Lecture Series, bringing together renowned scholars who discuss their recently published book with civil society actors and policy makers. This Migration Lecture Series, embedded in the Brussels School of Governance's Centre for Migration, Diversity and Justice, aims to bring academic work and debates to a wider audience:

  • On 9 March, as part of the Migration Lecture Series, professor Nick Vaughan-Williams talked about his new book, 'Vernacular Border Security - Citizens' Narratives of Europe's 'Migration Crisis’’. Prof. Vaughan-Williams of the University of Warwick talked about how European citizens understood and talked about the migration crisis and its impact on their daily lives. His insights were discussed by Omar Ba, a Belgian civil society activist. Prof. Florian Trauner and Hannah Vermaut moderated the discussion. You can watch the recording here
  • On 23 March, Andrew Geddes, the director of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, presented his research on the repertoires of migration governance in the EU, following the publication of his book 'Governing Migration Beyond the State’. This has been a very salient topic in view of the Ukrainian displacement after the Russian invasion. The two discussants were Tineke Strik, a Member of the European Parliament, and Raül Hernández i Sagrera, the official responsible for international affairs in the cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson. Prof. Ilke Adam moderated the discussion. 
  • Coming up in the lecture series, on 3 June from 11:00-12.30 CEST, professor Christina Zuber will launch her new book 'Ideational Legacies and the Politics of Migration in European Minority Regions'. Why do policies and attitudes toward immigration vary so widely across European minority regions? What determines whether political elites frame immigration as a threat or as an opportunity? Which role do ideas and historical political economy play in determining how immigration is perceived? This book talk by professor Christina Zuber explores these questions on the basis of a comparative analysis of Catalonia and South Tyrol. Catherine Xhardez will be the discussant. Registrations for this hybrid book launch (at the Brussels School of Governance and online) can be done on the BIRMM website.

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