Schwierige Allianzen: Lobbypolitik aus der Perspektive ‘schwacher AkteurInnen’. Die Verhandlung sozialer Rechte von Illegalisierten in der Europäischen Union

Abstract

Abstract

Challenging alliances: Lobbying from the perspective of ‘weak actors’ Negotiating social rights of undocumented migrants in the European Union.

The paper discusses various attempts of forming coalitions to support undocumented migrants in the European Union. The author refers theoretically to the widespread assumption in NGO and social movement studies that transnational advocay networks (Keck and Sikkink) enable ‘weak interests’ to be better heard; further it deals with the question of alliances between NGOs and business organizations, a strategy which gained importance in some policy fields such as labour rights and environmentalism. However, the empirical evidences of the author show that it is difficult to build alliances in the field of undocumented migration, both among NGOs and between NGOs and business actors. Among others, one reason is the rather narrow common denominator on such a controversial issue and the political opportunity structure at the level of the European Union; another reason lies in diverging political cultures of business and pro-migrant NGOs. The paper pleas for a stronger recognition of ‘weak actors’ such as self-organizations of migrants and antiracist groups. These forces open up new perspectives on the issue of social rights for undocumented migrants which have been underestimated up to now.