The National Politics of Immigration in Italy and Spain

Abstract

This chapter examines national political debates on immigration in Italy and Spain, with particular reference to the categorisation of Romanian immigrants. It asks how politicians in Italy and Spain compete over the politics of immigration, what it means for the population of Romanian immigrants to become fellow citizens of the EU and how this has occurred in a context of economic crisis and uncertainty in these countries. Whereas the previous chapter concentrated on the structural definition of categories of immigrants in laws and policies, here the focus shifts to the negotiations between political actors in the specific context of national party politics. The following chapter will further add to this by analysing local negotiations in the two capital cities of Rome and Madrid, before the subsequent chapter will examine the role of cross-border structures, networks and actors.