E-Governance in Times of Uncertainty: Diaspora-Built Practices on Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Jul 27, 2023
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Abstract
E-governance is essential for migrants to ease access to various administrative services in their home and destination countries. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed novel facets of inequality in the accessibility of these facilities, the lack of personnel during lockdowns being not the only impediment for foreigners. This paper aims to research the unequal access of the Romanian diaspora in Germany to digital solutions provided by authorities and the unprecedented circumstances that occurred during the medical emergency. The data analysis revealed how people built their e-governance networks on social media groups, providing alternative solutions to their issues and needs. Diaspora's relationships with governmental bodies are often priorly mediated via online communication in diasporic groups, where people ask for advice or present their approaches. Data collection has been done mainly on Facebook groups of Romanian migrants in Germany between 2020 and 2022. Methodologically wise, this research used digital field research to understand how people interact in these groups and what consequences could arise from their digital behaviour.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Jeflea, A. (2023). E-Governance in Times of Uncertainty: Diaspora-Built Practices on Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sociologie Românească, 21(1), 140-157. https://doi.org/10.33788/sr.21.1.7
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Rooth, D.-O. and Ekberg, J. (2006). Occupational Mobility for Immigrants in Sweden, International Migration, 44, 2, 57-77.
Salamońska, J., & Czeranowska, O. (2019). Janus-faced mobilities: motivations for migration among European youth in times of crisis, Journal of Youth Studies, 22, 9, 1167-1183.
Sandu, D. (2010). Lumile sociale ale migrației românești în străinătate. Iași, România: Polirom.
Saxena, K.B.C. (2005). Towards excellence in e-governance, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 18, 6, 498-513.
Statista Research Department (2022). Population in Germany based on the estimation of their English language skills from 2018 to 2022. Available at https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337198/english-language-skills-people-germany/. Accessed on March 10, 2023.
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Török, I. (2017). Migration patterns and core–periphery relations from the Central and Eastern European perspective, European Review, 25, 3, 388-405.
Van Mol, C. & de Valk, H. (2016). Migration and Immigrants in Europe: A Historical and Demographic Perspective, in B. Garcés-Mascareñas, & R. Penninx (eds.), Integration Processes and Policies in Europe, IMISCOE Research Series, 31-56.
Wolpert, J. (1965). Behavioral Aspects in the Decision to Migrate, Papers in Regional Science, 15, 1, 159-169.
Ciobanu, R.O. (2015). Multiple migration flows of Romanians, Mobilities, 10, 1, 466-85.
Dawes, S.S. (2008). The Evolution and Continuing Challenges of E-Governance, Public Administration Review, 68, S86-S102.
Dekker, R., & Engbersen, G. (2014). How social media transform migrant networks and facilitate migration, Global Networks - A Journal of Transnational Affairs, 14, 4, 401-418.
Dolea, A. (2022). Transnational diaspora diplomacy, emotions and COVID-19: the Romanian diaspora in the UK, in R. Govers, & J. Pamment, (eds.), Place Brand Public Diplomacy, 18, 12-14.
EF EPI (2022). EF English Proficiency Index: A Ranking of 111 Countries and Regions by English Skills. Available at https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/reports/2022/ef-epi-2022-english.pdf. Accessed on March 02, 2023.
Emilsson, H., & Adolfsson, C. (2019). Dreaming of Sweden as a Space of Well-Being: Lifestyle Migration Among Young Latvians and Romanians, Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 9, 2, 201-219.
Hine, C. (2000). Virtual Ethnography. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Institutul Național de Statistică (2022). Populaţia rezidentă la 1 ianuarie 2022 şi migraţia internaţională în anul 2021, Available at https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/com_presa/com_pdf/poprez_ian2022r_0.pdf. Accessed March 17, 2023.
Institutul Național de Statistică (2021). Populaţia rezidentă la 1 ianuarie 2021 şi migraţia internaţională în anul 2020, Available at https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/com_presa/com_pdf/poprez_ian2021r.pdf. Accessed March 17, 2023.
Institutul Național de Statistică (2020). Populaţia rezidentă la 1 ianuarie 2020 şi migraţia internaţională în anul 2019, Available at https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/com_presa/com_pdf/poprez_ian2020r.pdf. Accessed March 17, 2023.
Institutul Național de Statistică (2019). Populaţia rezidentă la 1 ianuarie 2019 şi migraţia internaţională în anul 2018, Available at https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/com_presa/com_pdf/poprez_ian2019r.pdf. Accessed March 17, 2023.
Kozinets, R. (2011). What is netnography? London, UK: Sage Publications.
Levitt, P., & Glick Schiller, N. (2004). Conceptualizing Simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field Perspective, International Migration Review, 38, 145, 595-629.
Madianou, M. (2017). “Doing Family” at a Distance. Transnational Family Practices in Polymedia Environments, in L. Hjorth et al., (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography, New York, NY: Routledge, 102-111.
Marino, S. (2020). Multi-sited ethnography and digital migration research: Methods and challenges, in K. Schuster, & S. Dunn (eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Research Methods in Digital Humanities, London: Routledge, 76-90.
Marlowe, J. (2019). Social Media and Forced Migration: The Subversion and Subjugation of Political Life, Media and Communication, 7, 2, 173-183.
McCollum, D. et al. (2017). Overcoming the crisis: the changing profile and trajectories of Latvian migrants, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43, 9, 1508-1525.
Mihai, T.P. (2020). Romanian Transnationalism, Mobility and Integration in Sweden. Social Media Manifestations and Its Uses Among Migrants, Bachelor Thesis. Malmö University.
Millard, J. (2010). Government 1.5: Is the bottle half full or half empty?, European Journal of e-Practice, 9, 1-16.
Mooyaart, J.E., & de Valk, H.A.G. (2021). Intra-EU migration 2010-2020. QuantMig Project Deliverable D4.2. The Hague: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI-KNAW)/University of Groningen.
Nancheva, N. (2022). Cleaners and Labourers on Facebook? Bulgarians in the UK between Free Movers and a Digital Diaspora, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48, 13, 3221-3239.
OECD (2019). Talent Abroad: A Review of Romanian Emigrants. Paris, France: OECD Publishing, Available at https://doi.org/10.1787/bac53150-en . Accessed on March 20, 2023.
Pink, S. et al. (2016). Digital Ethnography. Principles and Practice. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Plascencia, D. R. (2016). Circular migration and the Internet: The role of social networks in the sociocultural context of Mexican residents in Barcelona, Revista Teknokultura, 13, 1, 79-95.
Postill, J. (2012). Digital Politics and Political Engagement, in H.A. Horst, & D. Miller (eds.), Digital Anthropology, London, UK: Berg, 165-184.
Rooth, D.-O. and Ekberg, J. (2006). Occupational Mobility for Immigrants in Sweden, International Migration, 44, 2, 57-77.
Salamońska, J., & Czeranowska, O. (2019). Janus-faced mobilities: motivations for migration among European youth in times of crisis, Journal of Youth Studies, 22, 9, 1167-1183.
Sandu, D. (2010). Lumile sociale ale migrației românești în străinătate. Iași, România: Polirom.
Saxena, K.B.C. (2005). Towards excellence in e-governance, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 18, 6, 498-513.
Statista Research Department (2022). Population in Germany based on the estimation of their English language skills from 2018 to 2022. Available at https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337198/english-language-skills-people-germany/. Accessed on March 10, 2023.
Statistisches Bundesamt DESTATIS (2021). Ausländer: Kreise, Stichtag, Geschlecht, Ländergruppierungen/Staatsangehörigkeit. Available at https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?operation=previous&levelindex=3&levelid=1679262143219&levelid=1679262129924&step=2#abreadcrumb. Accessed on March 15, 2023.
Statistisches Bundesamt DESTATIS (2023). Foreign population by place of birth and selected citizenships on 31 December 2022. Available at https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Population/Migration-Integration/Tables/foreigner-place-of-birth.html. Accessed on June 03, 2023.
Török, I. (2017). Migration patterns and core–periphery relations from the Central and Eastern European perspective, European Review, 25, 3, 388-405.
Van Mol, C. & de Valk, H. (2016). Migration and Immigrants in Europe: A Historical and Demographic Perspective, in B. Garcés-Mascareñas, & R. Penninx (eds.), Integration Processes and Policies in Europe, IMISCOE Research Series, 31-56.
Wolpert, J. (1965). Behavioral Aspects in the Decision to Migrate, Papers in Regional Science, 15, 1, 159-169.