This book presents a socio-legal enquiry into the civic marginalisation of Roma in Europe. Instead of looking only at Roma's position as migrants, an ethnic minority or a socio-economically disadvantage group, it considers them as European citizens, questioning why they are typically used to describe exceptionalities of citizenship in developed liberal democracies rather than as evidence for how problematic the conceptualisation of citizenship is at its core. Developing novel theoretical concepts, the book investigates a variety of topics including migration and free movement, statelessness and school segregation. It argues that while Roma are unique as a minority, the treatment that marginalises them is not. This is demonstrated by comparing their position to that of other marginalised minorities around the globe.

Reviews

Recipient of the ASN Harriman Rotschild Book Prize Honorable Mention 2022

'This excellent and engaging text seeks to open up a new discussion about the failure of Roma 'integration' and the persistent violation of Roma rights on the part of nation-states. It adopts an explicit socio-legal perspective and acknowledges the crucial role of widespread anti-Roma racism in maintaining Roma marginality and ensuring their positioning at the 'fringes of citizenship' [...] In doing so it moves us further toward a more reality-congruent orientation in understanding Roma and non-Roma relations.'
Ryan Powell, Housing Studies

'The book is a must-read for scholars, practitioners as well as students dealing with marginalized communities and citizenship studies, as it provides a new and interesting angle and a new perspective in the field of citizenship studies.'
Sophie Schonthaler, European Yearbook of Minority Issues

Introduction: Strangers among citizens
1 Visible minorities, invisible citizens
2 Irregularised citizenship, free movement and territorialities
3 Citizens in the making and the inequality of opportunity: School segregation of Romani children
4 Minority statelessness and racialised citizenship: Total infringement of citizenship
5 Out of ignorance and despair: Sabotage as a citizenship enactment at the fringes
Conclusion: Reflecting on citizenship from the fringe
Index