easa

Call for Papers for Special Issue and Workshop

Same-Sex Marriage and Migration:
Politics of Belonging, State Regulations, and New Ways of Doing Family acro=
ss Borders

Special Issue editors and workshop conveners:
Apostolos Andrikopoulos (University of Amsterdam/ Harvard University) and S=
askia Bonjour (University of Amsterdam)

In an era where the social significance of marriage is under scrutiny, marr=
iage has emerged as a platform for migrants and LGBTI+ individuals to asser=
t their rights. However, governmental responses to these assertions vary. W=
hile 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 requirement=
s, and age limits, aimed at curbing marriage migration. This dual developme=
nt reflects a contradictory approach to marriage, ostensibly inclusive towa=
rds LGBTI+ individuals and their families but exclusionary towards migrants=
and their families. These represent two facets of the politics of belongin=
g in which liberal democracies are increasingly invested, intersecting in t=
he 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 impl=
ications for sexual citizenship, but has also reshaped the landscape of fam=
ily migration, granting marriage migration rights to same-sex spouses. The =
traditional paradigm of a male breadwinner and a female dependent, which ha=
s implicitly informed the design of family reunification policies in Europe=
and elsewhere, is now being challenged by the migration of same-sex couple=
s 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 G=
lobal North, particularly for those from economically disadvantaged backgro=
unds who are excluded from other mobility categories. The legalization of s=
ame-sex unions has, therefore, not only extended marriage rights but also o=
pened up a previously unavailable route for migration for same-sex couples.
In preparation for a Special Issue, we aim to address these tensions and ex=
plore the interconnections between same-sex marriage and migration. The goa=
l of the Special Issue is to establish the groundwork for a new research ag=
enda that promises to deepen our understanding of the intricate dynamics su=
rrounding same-sex marriage and migration with broader relevance for the po=
litics of belonging and sexual citizenship. We invite contributions from sc=
holars who investigate the implications of the legal recognition of same-se=
x marriage on the state's efforts to regulate migration through family regu=
lation. We are also interested in papers examining how the legal recognitio=
n of same-sex unions has led to new mobility patterns and novel ways of doi=
ng family.
If you are engaged in topics related to same-sex marriage alongside migrati=
on and other forms of mobility, please submit an abstract of up to 300 word=
s and a short bio by May 20, 2024, to a.andrikopoulos@uva.nl. Abstracts of selected papers will be included in a specia=
l issue proposal, which will be submitted for consideration to migration st=
udies journals. Furthermore, authors of selected papers will be invited to =
a workshop in Amsterdam on September 19-20. The workshop aims to discuss th=
e papers before the submission of the Special Issue for review. All worksho=
p 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 accom=
modation and potentially to partially cover their travel expenses.


Apostolos Andrikopoulos
Marie Sk=B3odowska-Curie Global Postdoc Fellow
Harvard University and University of Amsterdam

New Book:
Argonauts of West Africa: Unauthorized Migration and Kinship Dynamics in a =
Changing Europe, University of Chicago Press.
New Article:
Apostolos Andrikopoulos & Rachel Spronk (2023). "Family matters: same-sex r=
elations and kinship practices in Kenya" Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institu=
te.