New Seminar: Migration policy in autocratizing contexts

February 2-16 March 2026 | 15:30-17:00 (CET) | Online

February 2

Migrant activism in times of autocratization

• Legal and economic security of migrants as drivers of activism (Gaukhar Baltabayeva)

• The impact of exclusion of migrant workers from the right to form labor unions in Thailand (Shwe Zin Thin)

February 16

Refugee return in times of autocratization

• Negotiating Return: Power, Policy, and the Politics of Afghan Repatriation (Shahid Kamal)

• Refusing Return: Gendered Agency and the Politics of Repatriation among Syrian Women in Lebanon (Claude Samaha)

March 2

Migration and citizenship policies as tool for autocratization

• Fortifying the Polity or Fracturing the Polis? Migration Law, Majoritarianism, and Democratic Erosion in India and Across Borders (Sudipta Roy Choudhwry)

• Right-wing Populism and Political Power: A Comparative Study on Türkiye’s and Hungary’s Migration Diplomacy with the EU (Gülşen Doğan)

March 16

Discursive and implementation gaps in times of autocratization

• The Politics of (Mis)Directing Migration Narratives: The Gap Between Migration Policy and Practice in the Philippines (Matthew Marquez)

• The Restrictive Turn in Migration Policy under Milei's Administration: Governing through Decrees and the Production of Statistical Fictions (Ana Paula Penchaszadeh)

Contact: Katharina Natter, Leiden University | k.natter@fsw.leidenuniv.nl