Colloque : “Voting at a distance: Electors and Elections in a Transnational Context” — Paris, Sciences Po, CERI, 01-01/10/2015

Scientific presentation

The migrants’ participation in elections of their country of origin is a worldwide trend. So far, the literature has mostly discussed the why and how States adopt external voting provisions, and whether it is legitimate for non-resident citizens to vote. This conference proposes to take a step forward. It intends to look at electoral participation, political preferences, and electoral know-how and practices in a transnational context. It will discuss the extent to which determinants of voting behavior are shaped prior departure and the influence of migrants’ socialization in Western countries on social and political changes in their homeland. The conference further intends to explore “material dimensions” of external voting, that is to say voting procedures, political campaigns, candidate and representatives. By doing so, it hopes to shed light on the evolution of democratic norms and practices in the context of globalization. The conference will gather scholars in migration and transnational studies from different academic backgrounds and with specialization on various geographic areas.

The conference is part of Arab Overseas Voting, a Marie Curie Action research project based at Sciences Po (Paris) and funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission

Program

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st

14:00-14:30 Opening Remarks

Catherine Withol de Wenden, CERI-Sciences Po, CNRS & Thibaut Jaulin, CERI-Sciences Po

14:30-16:00 Keynote speech

Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College and Harvard University
Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display

16:00-16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-18:00 Session 1: The study of external voting

Chair: Thomas Lacroix, MIGRINTER

Discussant: Speranta Dimitru, Université Paris V

Jean Michel Lafleur, CEDEM/Université de Liège
External voting: Lessons from existing research and potential beyond migration studies

Michael Collyer, University of Sussex
The Means and Meaning of External voting

Paulo Boccagni, University of Trento
An act of (transnational) citizenship? Why the non-electoral implications of external voting matter (and deserve more research)

FRIDAY 2nd OCTOBER

9:00-11:00 Session 2: Comparative perspectives

Chair: Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College and Harvard University

Discussant: Antoine Pécoud, Université Paris XIII

Cristof Hartmann, University of Duisburg-Essen
External Voting in Africa: Comparative Perspectives on Driving Factors and Impact

Asli Okyay, European University Institute & Bahar Baser, Coventry University
Turkey’s Reach Beyond Borders and the Politics of External Voting: Analysing the external voting experience of diaspora(s) from Turkey

Jean Thomas Arrighi, University of Neuchatel
Voting from abroad in sub-state elections: Comparative insights from Scotland, Catalonia and Flanders

11h00-12:30 Session 3: Voting procedures and voter turnout

Chair: Jean Michel Lafleur, CEDEM/Université de Liège

Discussant: Hélène Thiollet, CERI-Sciences Po, CNRS

Mohammed Krir, Instance régionale indépendante pour les élections
Enjeux et spécificités des élections tunisiennes à l’étranger

Irina Ciornei, University of Bern & Eva Østergaard-Nielsen, Autonomous University of Barcelona
Emigration and turnout. Determinants of non-resident citizen electoral mobilization in home country elections

Anar Ahmadov, Oxford University and Princeton University & Gwendolyn Sasse, Oxford University
A Voice Despite Exit: The Role of Assimilation, Emigrant Networks, and Destination in Emigrants’ Transnational Political Engagement

14:00-16:00 Session 4: External voting and political remittances

Chair: Paulo Boccagni, University of Trento

Discussant: Chris Beauchemin, INED

Flore Gubert, DIAL/IRD & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, DIAL/IRD & Lisa Chauvet, DIAL/IRD
Do migrants adopt new political attitudes from abroad? Evidence using data on Malian migrants

Etienne Smith, Ecole de gouvernance et d’économie de Rabat
Senegalese external voting and the “diaspora effect”: What does the vote abroad say about the vote at home?

Paul Tabar, Lebanese American University
Political remittances: The case of Lebanon

Thibaut Jaulin, CERI-Sciences Po
Reproduction or transformation? The Tunisian voting behaviour at home and abroad

16:00-17:00 Concluding remarks

 

 

Responsable scientifique : Thibaut Jaulin, CERI-Sciences Po

CERI-56 rue Jacob, 75006 Paris / Salle de conférences

INSCRIPTION OBLIGATOIRE

 

 

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