Fabini, Giulia

I am a candidate in “Renato Treves” International PhD programme in Law and Society, University of Milan. Thanks to a nice residence grant, I spent two months at the library of the International institute of Sociology of law to finalise my dissertation titled "Bordering subjects. The unspoken incorporation of undocumented migrants in Italy". While socio-legal research has generally focused on the conditions under which undocumented migrants are eventually removed, my focus is on the far more frequent conditions under which undocumented migrants living in national territories are informally allowed to remain despite official permission. My research investigates internal border control in Bologna, Italy. Based on quantitative and qualitative methods, I collected data on the interaction between police, judges, and undocumented migrants, with a focus on discourses, practises and rationalities informing the practices. My research shows that through interaction the bordering subjects (police officers, judges, undocumented migrants) negotiate what may be called acceptable levels of illegality for undocumented migrants to be informally allowed to remain. What one may see in the interaction and negotiation of the norm is the production of new global subjects under changing global conditions and persisting blind national laws. I looks at the undocumented migrants as the new global subject, indeed, who may be not completely included, but who is not completely excluded neither. I use a local and bottom-up perspective to look at such subject not as the failure of immigration laws, but as their very product. The main point is that mechanisms of control over undocumented immigration are both formal and informal, they use law-enforcement as well as under-enforcement of law. Migrants themselves, by enacting specific strategies of resistance, take an active role in the mechanisms that produce them as subjects.

My work uses insights of Foucault, and it is aimed at bringing together the emerging field of criminology of mobility with the political economy of punishment and sociology of police. I am very grateful to the Insitute for giving me the chance to spend two months at the library. That was just perfect, because even if my scholarly interests range widely (sociology of law, critical criminology, and sociology of police, political philosophy, migration studies, and post-colonial and gender studies), I could find almost every books and articles I needed during the writing-process. Also, being Onati a small village in the Bask Mountains, the peacefulness of location helped me to deeply focus and having a big part of my work done. Finally, the academic environment there is so enjoyable, with the many visiting scholars coming and going and master students from all over the world sharing interests, knowledge, and debating on relevant topics in the sociology of law, that I wish I could stay longer and longer. Thank you IISL, for the richness of your books and articles collection and the kindness and preparation of staff!