Roundtable
Populism and Migration: To What Extend Does It Go Hand in Hand?
Zagreb, 19 June 2018
The last elections held in Europe emphasize a clear tendency: the rise of populist parties. Alternative für Deutschland in Germany, Front National in France and Partij voor de Vrijheid in the Netherlands gather more votes on territories where a lower proportion of immigrants is living.
This brings us to put in question the relation between populism and migration. Populism is not an easy concept to catch. It can be seen as a “political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups”. In this sense it excludes elites, minorities and foreigners. Why is populism mostly thriving on territories where foreigners and migrants are less visible? What is the role of mainstream medias in shaping the perceptions and attitudes toward migrants and ethnic minorities? What is the situation in Croatia in this regard?
To debate about these topics and bring forward some answers to these questions, the French Institute to Croatia and the Institute for Migrations and Ethnic Studies organised the round table on the 19th of June from 11 am to 1pm at the French Institute to Croatia (5 Preradovićeva). The participants of the round table were:
Hérvé Le Bras, French demographer, emeritus research fellow at the National institute for demographic studies (INED) and professor at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS). He has published extensively on electoral mapping, social divisions in France and on the global demographic tendencies.
Margareta Gregurović, Research Associate at the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies. She received her Ph.D. focused on Sociological Aspects of Ethnic Prejudices on Croatian Example. She has participated in several research projects, published more than twenty scientific and expert papers, and took part to several international scientific and expert conferences. Her research interests pertain to the fields of the sociology of ethnic relations, sociology of migration, sociology of education and sociological methodology.
Sara Lalić, project coordinator, researcher and policy analyst at Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), a civil society organization in Croatia dealing with asylum and migration, human security, socio-economic inequality, and human rights and peace education. Sara is working on advocacy and research related to human rights, anti-discrimination legislation and policy, racism and xenophobia and, lately, Roma integration in Croatia.
The Moderator of the round table was Drago Župarić-Iljić, Research Associate at the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies. His research pertains to the interdisciplinary field of involuntary migration, ethnicity, and environmental studies, and is focused on different structural reasons and causes of migration, mobility, and post-migration phenomena. He has published several scientific and professional papers on migration, asylum, refugees, national minorities and integration.