Governments worldwide have taken an unprecedented array of measures affecting human mobility to curb the spread of COVID-19. Examples include evacuations, lockdowns and travel restrictions. Some states have applied these public health measures only to those with citizenship status, while others have included long-term foreign residents and settled migrants.
We examine these choices and how they challenge our understanding of citizenship, migration and mobility. Specifically, we ask: (1) who is guaranteed the right to cross the country’s borders?; and (2) who qualifies for evacuation and consular assistance?
Our empirical analysis draws on an original longitudinal dataset of restrictions on human movement with global coverage and a smaller longitudinal dataset covering 27 countries in Europe.
Datasets and visualisations
Piccoli, Lorenzo, Leslie Ader, Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Christina Mittmasser, Oliver Pedersen, Aurélie Pont, Frowin Rausis, Petra Sidler (2020), Mobility and border control in response to the COVID-19 outbreak dataset. EUI Research Data: Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and nccr – on the move.
This dataset features systematic information on decisions regarding border closures and lockdowns in 27 European countries in response to the COVID-19 outbreak from 24 January to 2 October 2020. An interactive visualisation is available online.
Piccoli, Lorenzo, Jelena Dzankic, Andreas Perret, Didier Ruedin, Timothy Jacob-Owens (2020), International travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak dataset. EUI Research Data: Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and nccr – on the move.
This dataset features systematic information on international travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak from 24 January to 24 October 2020. It documents the evolution of the types and scope of international travel bans and exceptions to them in global coverage. An interactive visualisation is available online.
Publications
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli, Situational valence of citizenship. The functions of legal status during the COVID-19 pandemic. Details upon request.
Moraru, Madalina. Effective consular protection of unrepresented EU citizens in third countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: law and policy. Background Policy Brief, February 2021.
Piccoli, Lorenzo, Jelena Dzankic, Didier Ruedin and Timothy Jacob-Owens (2021), Restricting human movement during the COVID-19 pandemic: new research avenues in the study of citizenship, migration, and mobility. Accepted for publication in International Migration Review. Forthcoming.
Piccoli, Lorenzo, Jelena Dzankic, Didier Ruedin (2021), Citizenship, Migration and Mobility in a Pandemic (CMMP): a global dataset of COVID-19 restrictions on human movement. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248066
Piccoli Lorenzo, La trasformazione del regime globale di mobilità durante la pandemia COVID-19. Details upon request.
Dissemination
Piccoli, Lorenzo and Alex Afonso (2020) Covid-19 and the sudden death of free movement, The Borders of Equality Podcast.
Piccoli, Lorenzo (2020), Il classismo della pandemia, Radio Svizzera Italiana.
Piccoli, Lorenzo (2020). Coronavirus restrictions on movement may jeopardize the lives of the most vulnerable, Washington Post.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), Coronavirus : citizenship infected, GLOBALCIT blog.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), How COVID-19 is altering our conception of citizenship, LSE Blog.
Piccoli, Lorenzo and Joelle Moret (2020). A sudden bankruptcy of mobility capital?: the paradoxical effects of pandemics on human movement, nccr – on the move Blog.
Presentations
Piccoli, Lorenzo (2020), How did the Covid-19 pandemic change the global regime of mobility?, Centre suisse de compétence pour les droits humains, 11 December 2020.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), Situational valence of citizenship. The functions of legal status during the COVID-19 pandemic, Institute of Citizenship Studies, University of Geneva, 9 December 2020.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), Situational valence of citizenship. The functions of legal status during the COVID-19 pandemic, GLOBALCIT Seminar Series at the European University Institute, 19 November 2020.
Piccoli, Lorenzo (2020), Did the pandemic fundamentally alter the global regime of mobility?, Istituto Svizzero in Rome, 17 June 2020.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), The effects of COVID-19 on Mobility and Citizenship, Migration Policy Centre, 7 May 2020.
Dzankic, Jelena and Lorenzo Piccoli (2020), What a Border-full World: COVID-19 and the Dilemma of Thick or Thin Citizenship, Global Governance Programme, 7 May 2020.
Team
Jelena Dzankic
Part-time Professor, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
jelena.dzankic@eui.eu
Lorenzo Piccoli
Research Associate, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
lorenzo.piccoli@eui.eu
Madalina Moraru
Research Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
madalina.moraru@eui.eu
Timothy Jacob-Owens
Student Associate
timothy.Jacob-owens@eui.eu
Funding
This project has been supported by the EUI Research Council and the nccr – on the move.