External Voting among Central European Migrants Living in Western Europe
Non-resident citizens’ participation in national elections is known as external voting. This report presents the first comparative dataset of external voting, both in parliamentary and presidential elections. We gathered voting results among migrants from nine Central and Eastern European countries, with the main analysis focusing on six where most data were available: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Romania. The analysed countries of residence where diasporas cast their votes were Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden (EU members) as well as two countries belonging to the European Economic Area (Norway and Iceland) and Switzerland. How different are external voting results from those seen in countries of origin? What are the ideological differences between voting migrants and the ‘mean’ voter back home, and to what extent does that matter? These are some of the questions the data gathered may help shed light on.
On the formation of content for 'political remittances': an analysis of Polish and Romanian migrants comparative evaluations of 'here' and 'there'
Migration may affect migrants’ ideas as they become exposed to different contexts over time. But how does such exposure and opportunities for comparative evaluation of origin and settlement contexts, translate into content for potential political remittances? To answer this question, we analyse 80 interviews with Polish and Romanian migrants living in Barcelona (Spain) and Oslo (Norway). Starting from the established ‘social remittances’, literature, our contribution is to unpack the process of their formation by focusing on what happens at the content-creation stage. We do so through analysis of migrants’ comparative evaluation of their ‘origin’ and ‘settlement’ contexts in regard to three explicitly political issues: corruption, public institutions and democracy. We analyse how exposure to, and comparative evaluation of, different contexts inform migrants’ views, and find non-linearity and inconsistency between migrant groups’ and in individuals’ own patterns of views. This underscores the salience of, first, recognising how the change that migration prompts in migrants’ outlooks may or may not be stronger than preceding political preferences, anchored in ongoing processes of (re)socialisation; and second, of better understanding how migration impacts migrants’ outlooks, by considering the specifics of exposure and comparative evaluation, whether or not ultimately articulated in forms traceable as ‘political remittances’.
Staying Outside the EU Does not Make Norway’s Climate Policy More Ambitious
This article is in Norwegian only. The article discusses Norway’s climate policy in light of the country’s non-membership status in the European Union (EU). Despite claims that Norway, staying outside the EU, may have greater autonomy in shaping climate policy, the study shows that this does not necessarily lead to more ambitious climate targets. Since 2009, Norway has chosen to align itself with the EU, cooperate on climate issues and update its targets in line with European ones. Through a comparison with Sweden, an EU member, the article examines how EU membership has not limited Sweden’s ability to pursue an ambitious climate policy nationally and internationally. The article also reveals the challenges Norway faces as a result of its outsider status, particularly in the energy sector, where dependence on hydropower and the oil and gas industry causes problems for climate policy. Despite Norway’s international initiatives in climate finance and forest conservation, the article argues that EU membership would not necessarily limit Norway’s role as a global climate leader. Finally, the study points to the challenges of remaining outside the EU and emphasizes the need for a thorough assessment of the potential benefits and limitations of such a position.
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