Observation (participant and non-participant)

The project examines the treatment of third-country nationals at the external borders of the European Union in light of the existing fundamental rights framework. Two specific situations are taken into consideration: (1) treatment of third country nationals on the Southern maritime borders of the European Union (Phase I) and (2) treatment of third country nationals at selected land and airport border crossing points (Phase 2). The geographical scope of the research in Phase 1 covers 7 maritime border sectors in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain; while in Phase 2 - eleven border crossing points at the external Schengen border, including six land border crossing points (BCPs between Bulgaria and Turkey, between Greece and Turkey, between Slovakia and Ukraine, between Hungary and Serbia, between Poland and Ukraine and between Spain and Morocco, and five border crossing points at selected airports (Paris C.d.Gaulle, Amsterdam/Schiphol, Rome/ Fiumicino, Frankfurt and Manchester). Phase 1 (Maritime borders) Objectives • to examine challenges that emerge during interception and rescue at sea and immediately after disembarkation of migrants • to enhance the protection of fundamental rights during rescue or interception operations at sea, by supporting those in charge of border management to deal with the fundamental rights challenges they may encounter on a daily basis. In Phase 1 the study is based on qualitative research with third country nationals, authorities, fishermen and shipmasters, non-participant observation at maritime borders, and focus group interviews with stakeholder groups, both in EU and third countries. Phase 2 (Land and airport border crossing points) Objectives • to review existing procedures and practices in order to identify whether third-country nationals are treated in accordance with applicable fundamental rights standards (complementation of the Schengen Evaluation system) • to review if commitments related to the Schengen Borders Code (respect for human dignity, non-refoulement, non-discriminatory conduct) are respected during first and second line border checks as well as in facilities used for persons refused admission. In Phase 2 the study is based on non-participant observation at border crossing points, quantitative and qualitative research with third country nationals, and interviews with civil society actors. Outcomes Maritime border research Empirical case studies (phase 1) • 7 case studies of maritime border sectors • 5 sets of country fact sheets (maritime borders), covering 7 themes • Comparative report of fundamental rights challenges relating to surveillance and control of maritime borders Human rights training related to rescue and interception at sea • 5 country reports on Fundamental Rights training • Recommendations for training of border guards Land and air border research • 11 case studies of border crossing points • 9 sets of country fact sheets on 4 themes • Comparative report on border crossing points

This project will develop an intersectional approach to the study of queer asylum in Europe focussing on the experiences of people from a Muslim background. Muslim queer, trans, and intersex (LGBTQI) refugees are among the least visible and most marginalized constituents within Germany’s asylum system. This is despite the EU classifying LGBTQI refugees as a social group in need of special protection in 2011. Heteronormative and homonormative immigration and asylum policies combined with the global and domestic war on terror perpetuate the insecurity of Muslim LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers in Europe. Migration and gender studies, however, largely ignore the intersectionality of queerness, Islam, and the securitization of migration and of the few studies that concentrate on queer migration in continental Europe and none are on Germany. This project will provide new empirical insights into the experiences of LGBTQI asylum seekers with Muslim background. Drawing on the theory of intersectionality, it will enhance our understanding of how both hetero- and homonormativity in Germany’s asylum system, i.e. the ‘protection’ and production of trans and queer asylum seekers, is tied to institutional and societal expectations of sexuality and Islam. In this way the study will map how homo- and heteronormative asylum practices and laws create temporal socio-political spaces where rightlessness and rightfulness meet and converge. Methods will include: semi-structured interviews with LGBTQI Muslim asylum seekers police, immigration officials, LGBTQI activists, and LGBTQI organizations; legal and discourse analysis; non-participant observation, and case studies. The project will use the data and analysis to propose strategies that will help the European Commission, and state and non-state actors to develop policies and politics based on a better understanding of the wide range of experiences of Muslim LGBTQI asylum seekers.

The aim of the project is to explore antiracist ideas, practices and strategies, focusing on women and migrants doing antiracism and everyday practices of conviviality. Methodologically the project is inspired by institutional ethnography, extended case method and ‘What’s the problem represented to be’ (WPR). In-depth, focus group interviews and participant observation will be carried in two major and two rural municipalities, where 5 different organizations/networks will be studied (human rights, migrant; antiracist, feminists and religious). participant observations. The project will provide knowledge on the elusive concept and practice of antiracism as well as new forms of conviviality in multicultural societies, with particular focus on the role of women and migrants/ethnic minorities.

Based upon the experiences and views of urban dwellers in Rio de Janeiro, who arrived in the last 10 years from West Africa and Southern Europe, this project investigates how they relate to their new surroundings and become part of an urban population that is culturally diverse and socially stratified in complex and historically laden ways. I ask how they find a place in the city and how they see their own position relative to other urban dwellers. An important aspect is their ability to compare to the experiences made in the places they grew up in and passed through. Also, they contextualise their current experience with their imaginations and hopes for the future. I investigate this evaluation process with ethnographic methods, mainly participant observation, open-ended interviews and a mobile phone app with which my interlocutors document and share their experiences and reflections. I shift perspectives on urban socialities in a rapidly changing city in the global south by way of inquiring into the most recent migration movements. Methods and concepts I investigate this evaluation process with ethnographic methods, mainly participant observation, open-ended interviews and a mobile phone app with which my interlocutors document and share their experiences and reflections. I shift perspectives on urban socialities in a rapidly changing city in the global south by way of inquiring into the most recent migration movements. Outcomes and societal relevance I will gain insights into: 1) how people compare to make sense of their lives and that of others and how this advances the anthropological study and theory of comparison; 2) how newly arrived urban dwellers occupy and change between various social statuses which they uneasily relate to notions of global privilege and solidarities; and 3) how the city is bewilderingly multiple, but in which people of all walk of life still somehow live-together.