Redistribution or Recognition? EU Roma integration policies as a test for social justice
Author: Magazzini, Tina , tina.magazzini@deusto.es
Department: Human Rights Institute
University: University of Deusto, Spain
Supervisor: Dolores Morondo Taramundi (Uni of Deusto), Michael Collyer (Sussex Uni)
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
integration
, diversity management
, Roma
, identity
Areas of Research:
Comparative Sociology
, Migration
, Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy
Abstract
Background and research interests:
Tina Magazzini is a Marie Curie Junior Researcher (INTEGRIM Network) and PhD student in the “Human Rights: Ethical, Social and Political Challenges” program at the University of Deusto. Currently a member of the Human Rights’ Institute research team at the University of Deusto and Research Associate at the University of Sussex (School of Global Studies), her research interests are in the fields of human rights and social inclusion, migration and integration policies, Roma identity politics, social inequalities, discrimination, diversity management, group rights and cultural rights. Tina graduated in Political Science from the University of Florence (Italy) with an Erasmus year at the New University of Lisbon, and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the City University of New York (USA). In 2012 she moved to Brussels, where she worked on issues related to social inclusion and marginalized communities, particularly with the EU Roma Task Force, in the Directorate for Policy Coordination of the European Commission. This experience strongly contributed to developing her interest to pursue a PhD on this topic, which has turned into a research project that investigates the theoretical and conceptual strengths and weaknesses of diversity management policies that target the Roma population.
Research project:
Stemming from the question of which identity framework used in addressing Roma integration has proven more effective, and for whom, the working hypothesis is that the adoption of a cultural approach (Italy) rather than a primarily socio-economic one (Spain) has resulted in policies that impact not only the “material gap” in housing, education, health and labor between Roma and non-Roma, but that it has also heavily shaped and informed the Roma identity discourse in terms of stereotyping and of institutional discrimination. The research analyses the dialectical relationship between socio-economic redistribution and recognition of an ‘ethno-cultural’ identity of the Roma community developed in the Spanish State and in Italy, and develops a comparative study of the two models, as well as their implementation at the local level. Beyond second-hand data, i.e. scientific literature and official documents such as “white books” and the national and regional strategies for Roma integration, she conducted semi-structured interviews with policymakers in Italy and Spain, and took advantage of the Integrim MCN Film School to conduct photo and video elicitation exercises revolving around the concepts of stereotype, racism and discrimination.
