(Dis)enfranchising migrants: patterns and politics of granting voting rights to non-citizen residents and non-resident citizens in contemporary democracies

Half a century ago, the franchise in democratic elections was still confined to citizens residing in the territory. International migrants lost their voting rights in their country of origin and remained excluded from voting rights in their country of residence unless, and until, they were naturalised. A major challenge in contemporary democracies is to ensure that elections remain representative in contexts of international migration where the territorial and membership boundaries of the electorate have shifted and have become contested.

What conditions facilitate the political incorporation of immigrants and non-residents in the age of mass migration and unequal democracy? To address this question the project proposes a two-stage multi-methods design combining cross-case comparisons and within-case analysis. 

This project is jointly coordinated by the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID).

Team members:

• Lucy Dubochet (Research Associate, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)
• Matias Lopez Martinez (Postdoctoral researcher, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)
• Maria Mexi (Research Fellow, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)
• Lipin Ram (Postdoctoral researcher, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)
• Shalini Randeria (Senior Visiting Fellow, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)
• Yanina Welp (Research Fellow, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy)