Abstract

BETRISEY NADALI, Débora. The Mobility of the Best: Migration Policies and State Knowledge in the Spanish Context. Migr. Inter [online]. 2020, vol.11, e1986.  Epub Aug 30, 2021. ISSN 2594-0279.  https://doi.org/10.33679/rmi.v1i1.1986.

This paper focuses on current migration policies of the Spanish State aimed at promoting the so- called international mobility of young Spanish citizens over the last decade. From a socio- anthropological perspective, it analyses these policies as part of government techniques embodied in an institutional and moral knowledge that helps shape new categories and subjectivities of immigrants by combining historical figures (adventurers, conquerors) and values of global economic elites (talent, ability to succeed, etcetera). Moreover, it is argued that, through these devices, a model for action emerges that turns so-called youth mobility into an emancipation force while denying the conditions of domination on which it is sustained. This paper attempts to contribute a greater understanding of the cultural and socio-political logics that justifies the present migration policies in the Spanish context.

Keywords : Spanish emigration; migration policies; international mobility; neoliberalism; Spain.