The position and agency of the ‘irregularized’: Romani migrants as European semi-citizens
| Date | 01 August 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0263395716668537 |
| Published date | 01 August 2017 |
| Author | Julija Sardelić |
| Subject Matter | Special Issue Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395716668537
Politics
2017, Vol. 37(3) 332 –346
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0263395716668537
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The position and agency of
the ‘irregularized’: Romani
migrants as European
semi-citizens
Julija Sardelić
School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Abstract
This article discusses the position and agency of Romani migrants. It argues that different states
often irregularize the status of Romani migrants even in cases where it should be regularized
due to their de jure citizenship. This irregularization is possible because of their position as semi-
citizens in their ‘states of origin’. Yet, Romani migrants are not mere passive observers of these
practices, but react to their irregularized migrant statuses. In doing so, they redefine their national
and European citizenships. This article centres around two case studies to analyse the position and
agency of Romani migrants The first is Roma with European Union (EU) citizenship and the second
is post-Yugoslav Roma without EU citizenship.
Keywords
agency, European semi-citizens, irregularization, migration, Roma
Received: 15th November 2015; Revised version received: 14th June 2016; Accepted: 20th July 2016
Introduction
At a time when there is a proliferation of possibilities for geographic mobility and resi-
dence in countries other than one’s own for most people with a regular status in Europe,
the mobility of Romani minorities still remains a widely discussed and highly contested
topic (Parker, 2012; Van Baar, 2015). Many politicians, not only those on the far right
spectrum, collectively view Roma as abusers of their right to free movement – they often
portray Romani migrants with European Union (EU) citizenship as potential ‘welfare
tourists’ while also classifying those without EU citizenship coming from the post-Yugo-
slav space as potential ‘bogus’ asylum seekers (Kacarska, 2012). In this article, I present
a twofold argument on Romani migrants that challenges these views on their status and
political agency. First, I claim that different states use such reasoning about problematic
Corresponding author:
Julija Sardelić, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Mulberry Court, Mulberry Street,
Liverpool L7 7EZ, UK.
Email: julija.sardelic@liverpool.ac.uk
668537POL0010.1177/0263395716668537Politics
research-article2016
Special Issue Article
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