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Contentious Migration Policies: Dynamics of Urban Governance and Social Movement Outcomes in Milan and Barcelona

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Contentious Migration Policies: Dynamics of Urban Governance and Social Movement Outcomes in Milan and Barcelona Contentious migration policies: Dynamics of urban governance and social movement outcomes in Milan and Barcelona PhD dissertation by Raffaele Bazurli Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence Faculty of Political and Social Sciences Ph.D. Program in Political Science and Sociology, XXXI Cycle 28 April 2020 Ph.D. Coordinator Professor Donatella della Porta Ph.D. Supervisor Professor Donatella della Porta To those who struggle, whose pain is the very reason for my efforts. To my family and friends, whose love is the very reason for my happiness. ii Abstract Local governments—of large cities especially—enact policies that crucially affect the daily life of immigrants. Migration policy-making has proliferated across cities of the Global North—and so did its own contestation. The urban environment is, in fact, a fertile breed- ing ground for the flourishing of activist networks by and in solidarity with immigrants. Yet, research on social movement outcomes in the field of migration has been lagging behind. This thesis is aimed to theorize how and under what conditions pro-immigrant activists can affect policy-making at the city-level and beyond. By adopting a strategic-interaction and mechanisms-based approach to the study of contentious politics, the research con- tends and demonstrates that movements can rely on strategic leverages within three arenas of interaction. First, brokerage mechanisms are essential to the emergence of a social movement in the civil society arena. The peculiar qualities of urban spaces—notably, the availability of dense relational networks extended over an array of geographical scales— allow immigrants to create bonds of solidarity, craft alliances, and ultimately turn into vo- cal political subjects. Second, alliance-building mechanisms in the city politics arena have to be activated. Within a propitious political environment (e.g., ideologically sympathetic po- litical elites) activists are able to build potent pro-immigrant coalitions. Once crafted, these alliances can activate upscaling mechanisms to shape policy-making in the multi-level govern- ance arena. Such mechanisms reinforce and concatenate with one another in recurrent fash- ions, producing policy outcomes far beyond the immediate local contexts in which mobi- lization occurs. Yet, a plethora of dilemmas and contradictions are likely to arise, too. The study compares three contentious policy realms—exclusionary policies, policies in support of undocumented immigrants, and asylum policies—so as to assess similarities and dis- similarities across social movement outcomes. Empirically, it focuses on policies enacted in two large South European cities, Milan and Barcelona. Results are drawn from fieldwork carried out in 2017-19 and entailing 57 interviews. In addition, policy documents, media outlets, and the secondary literature have been extensively analyzed. iii Acknowledgments I and what surrounds me have changed in profound, unpredictable ways over my doctoral years. I became an adult (for better or worse!), forged and cut ties, travelled unceasingly, made many mistakes, did my best to love my neighbor, and transformed a vocation into a profession—a privilege for which I am immensely grateful. In moments of rejoice, sorrow, inspiration, and understanding, I used to think «I owe so much to this particular person, one day I will have to say ‘thanks for everything’». Now it is the moment. I want to thank all the scholars who supported, inspired, and believed in me. My first thank goes to my supervisor Donatella della Porta, who made me passionate about what I do—first with her books, then through our encounters—, supported me under any circumstances, taught me to stand on my own feet, and trusted me from the very first day. I am also thankful to Scuola Normale Superiore, the Center on Social Movement Studies, and the pool of talent under their roof. I want mention at a least a few among the brilliant ‘cosmonauts’ who backed me up in several occasions: my co-supervisor Manuela Caiani, Javier Alcalde, Lorenzo Bosi, Loris Caruso, Pietro Castelli Gattinara, Lorenzo Cini, An- drea Felicetti, Guglielmo Meardi, Lorenzo Mosca, Andrea L. P. Pirro, Martín Portos, Elias Steinhilper, and Lorenzo Zamponi. Thanks to the SNS administrative staff, too, who have always worked hard to make my research possible. In 2018-19 I was lucky enough to be hosted as a visiting researcher at the Urban School of Sciences Po-Paris and the Institute of Government and Public Policy of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. A sincere thank to those who made me feel at home from day one and devoted their time to expand my scientific horizons, especially Flavia Albanese, Iolanda Bianchi, Marco Cremaschi, Caterina Froio, Emiliano Grossman, Charlotte Halpern, Angeliki Konstantinidou, Patrick Le Galès, Margarita León, Lara Maestripieri, Gabriela Mendez Fernandez, Laura Morales, Eva Østergaard-Nielsen, Marc Parès, Alejandra Peña, Yuni Salazar, Antonino Sorrenti, and Tommaso Vitale. Also, I want to thank to all the scholars met at conferences and other venues who had the patience and desire to engage with my work and with whom I started meaningful collaborations, namely Matteo Bassoli, Tiziana Caponio, Maria Teresa Cappiali, Els de iv Graauw, Leila Hadj Abdou, James Jasper Marie-Helene Parè, Fred Paxton, Andrea Pet- trachin, Tihomir Sabchev, Juan Carlos Triviño, Imrat Verhoeven, Claudius Wagemann, and—last but not least—the ‘Pittsburgh group’, foremost David Kaufmann and Mara Sid- ney. A special thank also to my new supervisor Francesca Campomori, as well as Maurizio Ambrosini, Chiara Marchetti, Maurizio Artero, and all those with whom I am starting the post-doc adventure. There is one person I am especially grateful to, Paolo Graziano, who has mentored me for almost ten years now and has never been tired of that. On the contrary, he persis- tently persuaded me about the beauty and the importance of our work, made me confident about my abilities, keep up my morale during moments of loss, and cheered me on for my achievements. I could not hope for a more devoted guide and supporter. I will never be able to return what he gave me over the years. Writing these few lines is the least I can do. As overwhelming as a PhD can be, the excitement of carrying out fieldwork can more than reward you for all the efforts. What I love the most is the human side of it, the challenge of weaving your network of informants from scratch, earning their trust, follow- ing tortuous and unexpected paths to what you are looking for, slowly and meticulously composing a convincing mosaic of reality. I want to acknowledge all the interviewees who devoted their time to participate in this research. All of them have taught me something, whether inside the palaces of power, at the front-offices of welfare services, or during a street demonstration. Some of them have deeply changed the way I see the world and convinced me that there is a meaning in what I do. I feel the utmost responsibility to return at least a glimpse of what they gave me. A special thank goes to Pablo Castaño Tierno, Carlos Delclós, Steven Forti, Corrado Mandreoli, and Joan and Anna Subirats, who intro- duced me to the hectic labyrinths of Milan’s and Barcelona’s politics. Research can absorb your best energies—and this is can be fascinating as much as perilous. My beloved friends have always gave me wonderful reasons to ‘step out of the bubble.’ Thanks the brothers with whom I grew up in Gubbio—especially Amedeo, An- drea, Lorenzo, and Simone. I believe we belong to something bigger than the sum of all of us. Thanks to Pietro, because you are my irreplaceable mirror, and to my favorite mel- ons—Marco, Davide, and Francesco—because together we learned how to transform sor- row and troubles into mirth and beauty. Thanks to all the new friends and comrades met v over these doctoral years, especially Adal, Daniele, Simone, Claudia, Linda, Giorgio, Jona, Jonas, Virgi, Nacho, Alper, Filip, Samu, and Paolo. Some of you even had the misfortune of sharing a flat with me. I hope my handmade ravioli have been a fair compensation. Your company was the most lovable I could hope for. An additional thank goes to Federica and Baptiste, my present quarantine companions. Your care and tenderness saved me from certain ruin. Muffa and the giant horse will always visit us in our sweetest dreams. The most important acknowledgment is for the family I am blessed to belong to— mom, dad, grandma, Giorgia, and Luca. I learned what love is through your unconditional love, and what it means to be alive through your wonderful existence. When I find myself lost and rootless, you remind me who I am, where I come from, and where I am going. The most sumptuous monument could not do justice to all the sacrifices you made just to make me find my way. When I started my PhD, we could not expect the hardships we were about to navigate. I am ashamed to say it, but in a few moments I feared we could not make it. Now I feel the greatest proud for what we overcame by staying together, always and however. I was a boy, today I am a man. I know how to be in the world and how to find true joy day by day. This is because of you. My thoughts are with Sefora, too. Today we are apart and far away, but I will never forget all the love we could give to each other. No one has ever understood the most hidden corners of my soul more than you did. If I am here today, I owe it to you. The greatest lesson I learned over these years is that even the most mistreated ones are able to stand up and change the lives of many.
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