Researching “Crimmigration” ethnographically : navigating positionality, gendered field dynamics, and emotional complexity / Maryla E. Klajn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Klajn, Maryla Elżbieta, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Noncitizens--Poland--Research--Methodology--Case studies.

Noncitizens.

Illegal immigration--Poland--Research--Social aspects--Case studies.

Illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration--Poland--Research--Methodology--Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

London : SAGE Publications Ltd, 2026.

Summary:

This Case Study reflects on ethnographic fieldwork that explored the gendered dimensions of “crimmigration,” the merging of criminal and immigration law, through research with Polish Border Guard officers working along the Polish–German border. The research was designed as an ethnographic multisite case study, with multiple border outposts treated as distinct but connected units of analysis. I conducted fieldwork during a period of intensified securitization and rising nationalism and aimed to examine how discretionary practices, emotional labor, institutional secrecy, and cultural identity shaped everyday migration enforcement. Gender emerged as central to rapport building, access, and interpretation in the field, drawing attention to the emotional and symbolic dimensions of border work as encountered by me. Focusing on the methodologic and epistemological insights generated through this fieldwork, this Case Study describes a reflexive and relational ethnographic approach that combined participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and analysis of institutional documents. It reflects on how feminist and critical border studies informed decisions around access, ethics, and interpretation, particularly in opaque and politically charged institutional settings. Readers are invited to learn from the researcher’s engagement with positionality, gendered field dynamics, emotional complexity, and institutional opacity and to consider how such challenges can shape both the conduct of fieldwork and the knowledge it produces.

Notes:

Description based on XML content.

ISBN:

9781036253110

OCLC:

1594889106

Publisher Number:

T303030