Understanding Civic and Political Participation Among Highly Skilled Migrants: Self-Imposed Boundaries, Deservingness, and Fear

This article explores how EU and non-EU highly skilled migrants perceive their civic and political engagement in their country of residence through an analysis of 62 semi-structured interviews conducted in Budapest and Athens. The study focuses on the interplay between this perception and the concepts of deservingness and fear. Many highly skilled migrants see themselves as valuable assets to their country of residence, given their specialized skills, knowledge, and social and economic contributions, fostering a sense of entitlement to certain political rights. However, this perceived deservingness does not always translate into their full civic and political participation. The study suggests that while many highly skilled migrants claim their rights to influence policies impacting their professional and personal lives, and consider themselves deserving groups within the migrant population, they often self-impose boundaries on their political influence as non-citizens. By comparing the attitudes and perceptions of EU and non-EU migrants, the study indicates that highly skilled migrants adopt a patriotic cosmopolitan view of citizenship. This perspective allows them to distinguish between areas where they feel entitled to participate as cosmopolitans and urban patriots -particularly in social issues they may volunteer for, global concerns that affect all as members of humanity, and domestic matters that directly impact their daily lives- and those areas they perceive as beyond their scope of engagement. This selective approach demonstrates respect for the patriotic role of citizens, who are viewed as deserving of full rights, which highly skilled migrants as non-citizens are not. The study also posits that fear is a significant factor in this selective form of participation, particularly among non-EU highly skilled migrants, who encounter barriers that contribute to a more precarious situation. The research sheds light on how highly skilled migrants navigate their semi-citizenship, balancing their contributions to their country of residence with their perceived rights to civic and political participation, deservingness, and a sense of fear.