Call for Papers for Special Issue and Workshop
Same-Sex Marriage and Migration:
Politics of Belonging, State Regulations, and New Ways of Doing Family across Borders
Special Issue editors and workshop conveners:
Apostolos Andrikopoulos (University of Amsterdam/ Harvard University) and Saskia Bonjour (University of Amsterdam)
In an era where the social significance of marriage is under scrutiny, marriage has emerged as a platform for migrants and LGBTI+ individuals to assert their rights. However, governmental responses to these assertions vary. While many countries have expanded their marriage laws to encompass same-sex couples and protect their families, they have also imposed restrictions on cross-border marriages, such as income thresholds, integration requirements, and age limits, aimed at curbing marriage migration. This dual development reflects a contradictory approach to marriage, ostensibly inclusive towards LGBTI+ individuals and their families but exclusionary towards migrants and their families. These represent two facets of the politics of belonging in which liberal democracies are increasingly invested, intersecting in the regulation of marriage migration for same-sex couples.
The legal recognition of same-sex marriage in numerous countries worldwide has not only redefined the legal concept of marriage, with significant implications for sexual citizenship, but has also reshaped the landscape of family migration, granting marriage migration rights to same-sex spouses. The traditional paradigm of a male breadwinner and a female dependent, which has implicitly informed the design of family reunification policies in Europe and elsewhere, is now being challenged by the migration of same-sex couples through formal family reunification routes.
Migration through same-sex marriage assumes global significance as marriage often serves as one of the few viable avenues for legal migration to the Global North, particularly for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are excluded from other mobility categories. The legalization of same-sex unions has, therefore, not only extended marriage rights but also opened up a previously unavailable route for migration for same-sex couples.
In preparation for a Special Issue, we aim to address these tensions and explore the interconnections between same-sex marriage and migration. The goal of the Special Issue is to establish the groundwork for a new research agenda that promises to deepen our understanding of the intricate dynamics surrounding same-sex marriage and migration with broader relevance for the politics of belonging and sexual citizenship. We invite contributions from scholars who investigate the implications of the legal recognition of same-sex marriage on the state’s efforts to regulate migration through family regulation. We are also interested in papers examining how the legal recognition of same-sex unions has led to new mobility patterns and novel ways of doing family.
If you are engaged in topics related to same-sex marriage alongside migration and other forms of mobility, please submit an abstract of up to 300 words and a short bio by May 20, 2024, to a.andrikopoulos@uva.nl . Abstracts of selected papers will be included in a special issue proposal, which will be submitted for consideration to migration studies journals. Furthermore, authors of selected papers will be invited to a workshop in Amsterdam on September 19-20. The workshop aims to discuss the papers before the submission of the Special Issue for review. All workshop participants will be required to submit their drafts by September 1, 2024, and expected to read the other papers and serve as discussants for a few of them. We aim to assign at least three discussants per paper. There will be no paper presentations during the workshop. For participants with no or limited institutional travel funds, we have secured funding for their accommodation and potentially to partially cover their travel expenses.
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