The Geopolitics of Work Migrants: The Romanian Diaspora, Legal Rights and Symbolic Geographies
The Geopolitics of Work Migrants: The Romanian Diaspora, Legal Rights and Symbolic Geographies

Summary/Abstract: The article looks at the role played by Romanian migrant workers in the relations between East and West in the context of Romania’s 2007 accession to the European Union. Starting from an investigation into existing legal provisions for work diasporas in both Western Europe and at home, the article argues that bi-lateral state relations can suffer as a result of either negative reactions to the presence of migrant workers in the host countries or the inability of the home country to negotiate ‘safe passage’. As a result, it is often up to diasporic groups to fi nd a space where identity can be articulated, reproduced and expressed politically to address the lack of basic rights. New media in the form of diasporic websites is offered as an example of how Romanian migrant workers in Great Britain begin to construct a ‘language of claims’ in their production and consumption of new media.

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