Noncitizenism and the Global Compact for Migration

In December 2018 the international community adopted the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. This followed a process that lasted just over two years. The resulting document is unique in several ways. It provides a coherent approach to migration, bringing together many policy areas. It also represents a new sort of document in its own right. The process that led to this document is also interesting, including the way in which it engaged with a range of participants. Some members of global civil society celebrate the process while others are more critical. The proposed paper will present the results of a study into the role of those I refer to as ‘noncitizens’ in that process. It will be based on semi-structured interviews with key actors, documentary research, and event observation. It will combine theoretical framing with a real-world case study. By ‘noncitizens’ I do not only refer to those who do not have citizenship in the country in which they are living, but more broadly to those without full political recognition. In this paper, I will situate noncitizen engagement in the global compact for migration in the context of a complex and contested history of civil society engagement in global migration governance processes. I will use the practical case of the global compact for migration to re-examine terminology and theoretical approaches. The paper will test my theoretical notion of ‘noncitizenism’ and develop it for the international context.