Joint work with Leila Hadj Abdou out now in Governance: we examine how political parties debated the contribution of immigrants during the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, we emphasize how the category of “essential workers” allowed the centre right to support migration for specific immigrants while maintaining a negative stance to others (notably asylum seekers). We argue that crises re-emphasize such bifurcation strategies and implicitly question those voices who assumed/hoped that a more positive discourse on some immigrants (those “essential” workers) would spill over to other immigrant groups. Instead of a blurring, we can identify clear differentiation.
Sociologist. Quantitativist. University of Neuchâtel.
Didier Ruedin 