When the stars aligned: Ideational strategic alliances and the critical juncture of Argentina’s 2004 Migration Law

Susanne Melde, Luisa Feline Freier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle in a journalpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Argentina’s 2004 Migration Law spearheaded rights-based immigration policy reforms across Latin America. To deconstruct the policy process that enabled the passing of this ‘revolutionary’ law, we apply a mixed qualitative approach, based on secondary literature, and the analysis of 80 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. We argue that both structural and contingent regime dynamics shaped a window of opportunity for the reform to take place. We further show how key actors amongst civil society organisations, the executive and the legislative branches formed multi-sectoral coalitions and strategic alliances to turn this policy window into a critical juncture of lasting policy change. Ultimately, legislative reform was successful because it was framed as a human right, and not as an immigration issue. The paper contributes to scholarship on immigration policy determinants, ideational strategic alliances, policy windows and critical junctures.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1531-1550
Number of pages20
JournalThird World Quarterly
Volume43
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Global South Ltd.

Keywords

  • critical junctures
  • human rights
  • Migration policy determinants
  • policy liberalisation
  • policy windows
  • South America

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