Intimate Contradictions: Comparing the Impact of Danish Family Unification Laws on Pakistani and Cuban Marriage Migrants

Abstract

The Danish family unification policies are based on an underlying moral agenda rooted in the idea of emotional, intimate, love-based marriages as the basis of the modern nation state. This paper questions the efficacy of this moral agenda by examining the unintended consequences and false dichotomies that emerge with the implementation of the legislation, particularly focusing on kin relations and individual autonomy. Empirically, the article compares how the legislation affects both the intended targets (intra-ethnic marriages among Danes of immigrant descent) and the unintended targets (ethnic Danes who marry non-European spouses, namely, Cubans). This comparative perspective highlights the cracks in the moral agenda of the state's efforts to shape family formation and, ultimately, the contradictions of attempting to promote ‘modernity’ over ‘tradition’.

Keywords:

• Marriage Migration
• Legislation
• Kinship
• Denmark Family Unification

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers and the following individuals for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article: Anika Liversage, Garbi Schmidt, Vibeke Jakobsen, and Pieter Bevelander.

Notes

[1] Our approach parallels that of Bledsoe and Sow (2011), who examined unintended consequences of family reunification legislation among African migrants in several European countries.

[2] These are commonly used racial terms in Cuba, and how the men self-identify.

[3] Wardlow and Hirsch (2006) note the presence of ‘courtly love’ as early as the eleventh century, and Povinelli (2002) also cites changes contributing to this shift as early as fifteenth century. The dates cited here mark a period when many of these earlier trends converged to solidify and popularise the idea of love-based marriage in the West.

[4] Today, the major migrant groups come from countries including Turkey, Germany, Iraq, Poland, Lebanon, Bosnia-Herzegovina, African nations (especially Somalia), Pakistan, former Yugoslavia, Norway and more recently Thailand and the Philippines.

[5] As a socialist state, Cuba has restricted travel for its citizens. Until January 2013, in order to travel, Cubans were required to have an exit visa from Cuba and a letter of invitation from someone in the destination country along with a visa for that country. The government under Raul Castro is only now easing some of these restrictions.

[6] Eggebø's (2013) research in Norway shows a similar tendency, and argues that legislating on love can be difficult. She finds that Norwegian immigration officials must operationalise ‘love’ in order to assess its role in a transnational relationship.