Lecture | Leiden Interdisciplinary Migration Seminar (LIMS)
Autocratic immigration policymaking (ONLINE)
- Date
- Thursday 28 May 2020
- Time
- Series
- Leiden Interdisciplinary Migration Seminars 2019-2020
- Location
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden
LIMS talk by Katharina Natter (Political Science), entitled 'Autocratic immigration policymaking'. Fran Meissner (Urban Studies) will be the discussant.
LIMS
The Leiden Interdisciplinary Migration Seminars (LIMS) aim at fostering further discussion across disciplines on migration-related topics and creating an open dialogue between the speakers and the attendees. The seminars are a platform for those at Leiden University working on migration-related topics.
Abstract presentation
Open immigration policy changes are often cast as a feature of democracy and restrictive immigration policy changes as a feature of autocracy. This paper shows that the relationship between political regime type and immigration policy change is not as clear cut. Empirical evidence suggests that the substance of immigration policy change — in terms of openness or restrictiveness — does not significantly differ between democracies and autocracies. However, political regimes shape immigration policy dynamics, with autocracies having more leeway than democracies to open (or restrict) immigration according to their economic, geopolitical, or domestic priorities. Autocracies can more easily enact open immigration policy reforms compared to democracies if they wish to do so, a dynamic I call the ‘illiberal paradox’ and illustrate with empirical examples from across the globe. I also outline the limits of the autocratic openings on immigration, related to policy implementation, sudden policy backlashes and migrants’ integration rights. To move towards more global immigration policy theories, this paper suggests combining analyses that identify ideal types of democratic or autocratic immigration policymaking with studies of the nuances of real-life political practices. This would allow scholars to conceptualise immigration policy dynamics across the entire democracy-autocracy spectrum, for instance by capturing authoritarian practices within formal democracies and democratic practices within formal autocracies.
Sign up
The seminar will take place online. Please send an e-mail to Irial Glynn via i.a.glynn@hum.leidenuniv.nl to receive the link.