Constructing Roma migrants : european narratives and local governance

Abstract

The idea for this book stemmed from two symposia that brought together scholars from a range of different countries and disciplines to reflect upon the political and legal context of the mobility of Romani citizens in Europe. Our interest in this topic started with the adoption of a EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies in 2011, when Member States were requested to develop integration strat- egies that were explicitly yet not exclusively targeted at their Roma populations (European Commission 2011). Even though this policy scheme represented an effort to overcome the inadequacies of the anti-discrimination directives1 to address the social and institutional discrimination suffered by Roma people in Europe, tan- gible results of such measures have so far been lacking. The symposia, titled “Roma Westward Migration in Europe: Rethinking Political, Social, and Methodological Challenges”,2 addressed the emergence of Roma-specific policies alongside an increasing concern about migration and diversity management.