Contesting categories: cross-border marriages from the perspectives of the state, spouses and researchers
Joëlle Moret, Apostolos Andrikopoulos & Janine Dahinden
| Résumé |
Marriages that involve the migration of at least one of the spouses
challenge two intersecting facets of the politics of belonging: the
making of the ‘good and legitimate citizens’ and the ‘acceptable
family’. In Europe, cross-border marriages have been the target of
increasing state controls, an issue of public concern and the
object of scholarly research. The study of cross-border marriages
and the ways these marriages are framed is inevitably affected by
states’ concerns and priorities. There is a need for a reflexive
assessment of how the categories employed by state institutions and
agents have impacted the study of cross-border marriages. The
introduction to this Special Issue analyses what is at stake in the
regulation of cross-border marriages and how European states use
particular categories (e.g. ‘sham’, ‘forced’ and ‘mixed’ marriages)
to differentiate between acceptable and non-acceptable marriages.
When researchers use these categories unreflexively, they risk
reproducing nation-centred epistemologies and reinforcing
state-informed hierarchies and forms of exclusion. We suggest ways
to avoid these pitfalls: differentiating between categories of
analysis and categories of practice, adopting methodologies that do
not mirror nation-states’ logic and engaging with general social
theory outside migration studies. The empirical contributions of
the Special Issue offer new insights into a timely topic. |
| Mots-clés |
: Cross-border marriages, reflexivity, nation-states, marriage migration, categories |
| Citation | Moret, J., Andrikopoulos, A., & Dahinden, J. (2019). Contesting categories: cross-border marriages from the perspectives of the state, spouses and researchers. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-12. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 17-7-2019 |
| Nom du périodique | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| URL | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.201... |
| Liée au projet | Cross-border marriages under conditions of transnationali... |