Reframing Immigrant Resistance Alliances, Conflicts, and Racialization in Italy

Introduction

1. The Italian Context and Methodology

2. A Theoretical Model of Local Dynamics: Alliances and Conflicts in Context

3. Civic Participation in a City of Intercultural Dialogue

4. Multiple Forms of Participation in a Stronghold of the Left

5. Political Contention amid the Rise of the Northern League

6. Obstructing Participation in a Stronghold of the Catholic Church

7. Political Racialization and Resistance

Conclusion

Appendix A: Research Design and Methodology

Appendix B: List of interviews conducted in Reggio Emilia

Appendix C: List of interviews conducted in Bologna

Appendix D: List of interviews conducted in Brescia

Appendix E: List of interviews conducted in Bergamo

Biography

Teresa M. Cappiali is a Vinnova MSCA-Seal of Excellence Fellow and a researcher at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Sweden. She specializes in migration, the politics of migration, racism, and anti-racism from an intersectional approach.

"Brilliantly theorized and rigorously researched, Reframing Resistance draws from and makes critical contributions to research on European and North American migration, social movements, and critical race studies. Teresa Cappiali’s comparative analysis of migrant mobilizations, alliances, and intra-movement tensions will be widely read and the definitive book on immigrant rights activism in Italy."

Chris Zepeda-Millán, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

"This is by no means a detached book, but one that is engaged and is engaging in research that addresses extremely relevant issues in migration studies - namely, migrant struggles and activism within civil society, with the support of some political allies. The arguments are empirically grounded through an original conflict-based and multi-sited methodology, where knowledge is produced through the author's participation within immigrant communities, making it clear that these spaces of resistance are local. Even if it is contextualised in Italy, this book illustrates one of the most silent emancipatory struggles in this second decade of 21st century and makes an important contribution to the literature on inclusion and democracy and on justice in our contemporary migratory societies."

Ricard Zapata-Barrero, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

"Theoretically provocative and empirically rich, this volume helps our understanding of migrant struggles by considering the meaning of migration, recognizing their agency, making their voices heard, considering their practices, and the alliances but also the tensions that often emerge in a broad field of action."

Donatella della Porta, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy

"Based on a thorough theoretical construction and on a meticulous empirical work in four Italian cities, this book examines immigrant political mobilization in a social context marked by a strong racialization. A must read for students and scholars interested in exploring the changing dynamics of immigrant politics, immigration political mobilization and citizenship in Italy and in Europe."

Marco Martiniello, University of Liège, Belgium