European Identity through Practices of Enumeration: The Formation of EU Citizenship and European Migration Policy

ABSTRACT

The paper analyzes the function and the role of enumerative practices within European migration policy and practices of managing and regulating borders and (illegal) immigration. By employing enumerative practices, illegal immigrants are constructed and represented as a threat to the European Union and as such empower and legitimize European authorities and contentious mechanisms of controlling and regulating migrations. The paper also shows that enumerative practices are paramount in the process of creating a common European identity because of their role in the formation and articulation of the idea of EU citizenship as a particular value of belonging to the European community.

KEYWORDS: Enumerative practices, EU citizenship, (Im)migration, European migration policy