Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain
The UK’s decision to leave the EU illustrates some of the tensions embedded in European integration, enabling us to examine how nationalism and cosmopolitanism operate simultaneously, thus reinforcing each other. Furthermore, the prolonged Brexit negotiations have created a climate of protracted ins...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw, and Polish Academy of Sciences
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Central and Eastern European Migration Review |
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| Online Access: | http://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/vol-9-no-1-2020/articles/liminal-lives-navigating-betweenness-case-bulgarian-and-italian-migrants |
| _version_ | 1817976623818866688 |
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| author | Elena Genova Elisabetta Zontini |
| author_facet | Elena Genova Elisabetta Zontini |
| author_sort | Elena Genova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The UK’s decision to leave the EU illustrates some of the tensions embedded in European integration, enabling us to examine how nationalism and cosmopolitanism operate simultaneously, thus reinforcing each other. Furthermore, the prolonged Brexit negotiations have created a climate of protracted insecurity where the only certainty is uncertainty. This is particularly reflected in the migratory experiences of European citizens currently residing in the UK. Academic research has begun exploring the affective impact of Brexit; however, little is known about how processes of connection and disconnection operate simultaneously, nor which coping strategies European migrants have employed to navigate this state of in-betweenness. Using the anthropological notion of liminality as a lens, we draw on participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of Brexit and the coping practices of a range of (new) Bulgarian and (old) Italian European migrants. We argue that Brexit results in a loss of frames of reference for European migrants in the UK – which can be both liberating and unsettling, depending on migrants’ positioning as unequal EU subjects as well as their views on the nature of their future re-incorporation in post-Brexit Britain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:06:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68a59e6a4bbe4da1b8ee8468a09442f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-1682 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:06:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw, and Polish Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Central and Eastern European Migration Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-68a59e6a4bbe4da1b8ee8468a09442f92022-12-22T02:27:56ZengCentre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw, and Polish Academy of SciencesCentral and Eastern European Migration Review2300-16822020-06-0191476410.17467/ceemr.2020.04Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting BritainElena Genova 0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1366-268XElisabetta Zontini 1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6011-788XUniversity of Nottingham, UKUniversity of Nottingham, UKThe UK’s decision to leave the EU illustrates some of the tensions embedded in European integration, enabling us to examine how nationalism and cosmopolitanism operate simultaneously, thus reinforcing each other. Furthermore, the prolonged Brexit negotiations have created a climate of protracted insecurity where the only certainty is uncertainty. This is particularly reflected in the migratory experiences of European citizens currently residing in the UK. Academic research has begun exploring the affective impact of Brexit; however, little is known about how processes of connection and disconnection operate simultaneously, nor which coping strategies European migrants have employed to navigate this state of in-betweenness. Using the anthropological notion of liminality as a lens, we draw on participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of Brexit and the coping practices of a range of (new) Bulgarian and (old) Italian European migrants. We argue that Brexit results in a loss of frames of reference for European migrants in the UK – which can be both liberating and unsettling, depending on migrants’ positioning as unequal EU subjects as well as their views on the nature of their future re-incorporation in post-Brexit Britain.http://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/vol-9-no-1-2020/articles/liminal-lives-navigating-betweenness-case-bulgarian-and-italian-migrantsbrexitliminalitybulgariansitalianscoping practices |
| spellingShingle | Elena Genova Elisabetta Zontini Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain Central and Eastern European Migration Review brexit liminality bulgarians italians coping practices |
| title | Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain |
| title_full | Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain |
| title_fullStr | Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain |
| title_short | Liminal Lives: Navigating In-Betweenness in the Case of Bulgarian and Italian Migrants in Brexiting Britain |
| title_sort | liminal lives navigating in betweenness in the case of bulgarian and italian migrants in brexiting britain |
| topic | brexit liminality bulgarians italians coping practices |
| url | http://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/vol-9-no-1-2020/articles/liminal-lives-navigating-betweenness-case-bulgarian-and-italian-migrants |
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