The duality of children's political agency in deportability. (August 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lind, Jacob
• Editors: Lundberg, Anna; Squire, Vicki; Strange, Michael
• Is Part Of: Politics. Volume 37:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 288
• Page End: 301
• Publication Date: 2017-08
• Subjects: children -- deportability -- the irregular situation -- political agency; Political science -- Periodicals; 320
• DOI: 10.1177/0263395716665391
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-3957

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth ethnographic observations among irregularised migrant families in Birmingham, UK, this article discusses how children's political agency manifests in everyday life. It shows how children who become aware of their legal status as 'deportable' reject this subject position and offer their own definitions of who they are and where they belong. Simultaneously, it is argued that children with varying degrees of knowledge about their legal status also express political agency through their struggle to sustain the inclusion they experience. Such expressions highlight the duality of children's political agency in irregular situations.