Paper short abstract:

Through a comparative analysis, the proposed paper seeks to explore the ways in which the context of immigration and the changing migration policies in the country of settlement shape the ways in which migrants construed a specific understanding of political citizenship.

Paper long abstract:

Migrants' engagement in transnational activities poses important questions about their ability to foster a sense of national belonging and loyalty towards two or more nations. State control over transnational migrants by their country of origin competes with, and may come into conflict with, the policies and politics of living in a new host country. Indeed, the multiple entanglements with which migrants engage, affect the way that a community is organized, its access to education and work, and the development of new forms of identity through positive forms of identification and/or through the experience of discrimination. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of Eritreans living in London and Milan, the proposed paper seeks to explore the ways in which the context of immigration and the changing migration policies in the country of settlement shape the ways in which migrants construed a specific understanding of political citizenship. How are migrants of different time of arrival situated similarly or differently in relation to the country of origin and the country of settlement? Where are second and further generations placed when discussions over transnational engagement occur?