Noncitizen Power: Agency and the Politics of Migration

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In Noncitizen Power Tendayi Bloom applies her novel politics of noncitizenism' to global governance. Noncitizenism advocates examining political institutions from the perspectives of those who must live and act despite them. Noncitizen power may be essential in addressing some of our worlds apparently most intractable challenges. By analysing civil society engagement in the 2018 UN Global Compact for Migration, Bloom examines how far those with the most direct experiences of difficulties arising from migration governance can contribute to shaping it. Interrogating its underlying narratives and how human agency is understood within them, she highlights how politics, from grassroots activism to global deliberations, necessarily involves real people. This book introduces some of those engaging in noncitizen politics, providing a critical contribution to contemporary debates on solidarity, participation, legitimacy and justice in the international system and in migration politics.

Reviews

This insightful book puts the spotlight on those people who live out their lives despite an international system that benefits others. In bringing such voices to the foreground, Bloom has produced a valuable addition to the literature on the global politics of migration that demonstrates how institutional structures are constructed, and how they may be challenged. Written in an accessible and clear manner, Noncitizen Power is essential reading for anyone interested in global migration governance. -- Gerasimos Tsourapas, University of Glasgow, UK
This is a brilliant critique of how citizen-state relations usurp all relations between states and individuals in liberal political thought. An entire category noncitizens and their relations with the state remain subordinate as noncitizens wanting to become citizens. Yet, noncitizens often make rights claims without wanting to become citizens, and, as Bloom shows, with profound consequences. -- Engin Isin, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Tendayi Blooms book makes an important and original contribution to our understanding of the multi-scalar politics of migration through the unique lens of noncitizens. It brings to the fore the agency of those migrants and non-migrants alike whose lives and politics develop within and despite the institutions that govern them, and calls for these voices, experiences and perspectives to be brought into discussions of global migration governance. -- Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham, UK

Author Bio

Tendayi Bloom is Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is author of Noncitizenism: Recognising Noncitizen Capabilities in a World of Citizens (2018).