Gramscian perspectives on citizenship: snapshots from the experience of regional migrants in the Republic of Cyprus

ABSTRACT

This article conceptualises citizenship in Gramscian terms, as a contested element of struggles for hegemony within civil society. Based on ethnographic snapshots from Cyprus, it is shown how the agency of migrants from the nearby region not only subverts a restrictive border regime, but also challenges a hegemonic paradigm of citizenship shaped by colonialism, ethnic conflict, as well as crisis and austerity. At the same time, struggles for legal recognition occur in a state of relative autonomy from this social contestation of citizenship. They rather express a desire for freedom of movement as a right in itself, in a context where legal citizenship is becoming synonymous with mobility.

KEYWORDS:

• Gramsci
• Cyprus
• acts of citizenship
• mobile commons
• differential inclusion
• hegemony

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my gratitude to the reviewers and the journal editors for their helpful comments, as well as to my research assistance, Rihab Marouf, whose translation work during fieldwork proved invaluable in providing the insights upon which this article is based.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Research funding for this article was provided by the A.G. Leventis Foundation, International University of Cyprus Grant (2017–2019).

Notes on contributors

Leandros Fischer

Leandros Fischer is a postdoctoral researcher at Aalborg University. His current research revolves around the digital practices of migrants and their role in circumventing the European border regime, focusing on the city of Hamburg and northern Denmark.