Yasmeen Abu-Laban

The Construction of the Geography of Immigration as a Policy Problem: The United States and Canada Compared

The release of 2000 U.S. Census and 2001 Canadian Census data sparked significant interest in immigrant dispersal outside major urban centers. This article analyze show the meaning of immigration settlement patterns is socially constructed by using a comparative textual analysis of newspaper coverage of census findings as well as government documents and think tank studies. The authors argue that in Canada, immigration settlement is interpreted as a national policy problem necessitating federal state intervention, whereas presentations in U.S. print media construct immigration settlement as the outcome of choices made by individual immigrants and, thus, as local policy problems. In each case, construction of immigrant dispersal draws on national mythologies and omits alternative interpretations of the geography of immigrant settlement.

Dangerous (Internal) Foreigners and Nation-Building: The Case of Canada

In this article we develop a theoretical framework attuned to the relationship between discourses of security, race/racialization, and foreignness. Applying this framework to three historic instances of Canadian national insecurity (Japanese-Canadian internment, the Front de libération du Québec crisis, and the Kanehsatake/Oka crisis), we argue that “foreignness” is produced and regulated in historically specific ways with consequences for how “the nation” is viewed. We demonstrate how this is especially evident in relation to racialized constructions of “internal dangerous foreigners.” Our framework and findings invite larger disciplinary consideration of the post-September 11 security environment both in and outside Canada.

The racial contract: Israel/Palestine and Canada

In this paper we adapt political philosopher Charles Mills’ notion of the racial contract to consider the fraught context of Israel/Palestine and its interface with other states, particularly Canada. Specifically, we argue the racialization of categories commonly considered to be race-neutral – including: religion; nationality; citizenship; democracy; security; historic claims to or denial of claims to land; and interpretation, implementation or circumvention of international law – must be explicitly recognized in the exercise of power. To illustrate this we address how anti-Semitism, Orientalism and Islamophobia are key historic components of the racial contract in Canada and internationally. We consider how the racial contract has defined the state of Israel since 1948, and how the international racial contract assigns a common interest between the state of Israel and international political allies, including Canada. This process depends upon absenting Palestinians as simultaneously non-white, the subjects of extreme repression, and stateless.

From Deportation to Apology: The Case of Maher Arar and the Canadian State

In 2002, Maher Arar, a dual Canadian and Syrian citizen, was detained and accused by American authorities of being a member of al Qa’ida. He was deported to Jordan and, ultimately, Syria, where he was imprisoned and subjected to torture for one year. In 2007, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued an apology and 10.5 million dollars (Canadian) in compensation. Drawing on contemporary theoretical accounts of multiculturalism, security, and the state, and utilizing parliamentary debates and American and Canadian print media accounts between 2002 and 2007, we examine the statements of public officials in Canada and the United States to show how the story of Arar, from his deportation to the apology, has been framed in contradictory ways. These contradictions spin on three main dualisms: Arar’s guilt versus innocence; Arar’s status as a Syrian versus Canadian; and the rule of law versus exception. It is argued that these contradictions are of tremendous theoretical significance for understanding the contemporary Canadian state as one in which multiculturalism and liberalism co-exist with racialization and exception. En 2002, Maher Arar, un citoyen ayant la double nationalité canadienne et syrienne, fut détenu et accusé par les autorités états-uniennes de faire partie d’al Qa’ida. Il fut déporté en Jordanie, puis en Syrie, où il fut emprisonné et torturé pendant un an. En 2007, le Premier ministre Stephen Harper présenta des excuses officielles accompagnées d’une compensation de 10,5 millions de dollars. Dans cet article, à partir de théories contemporaines sur le multiculturalisme, la sécurité et l’État, et en référence aux débats parlementaires de même qu’aux média écrits entre 2002 et 2007, nous examinons comment les discours officiels publics se contredisent, aussi bien au Canada qu’aux États-Unis, et ce depuis la déportation d’Arar jusqu’aux excuses publiques qui lui ont été présentées. Ces contradictions découlent de trois formes de dualisme : d’abord, la culpabilité d’Arar par opposition à son innocence, ensuite son double statut de citoyen canadien, mais aussi syrien, et enfin, la règle de droit en concurrence avec la règle d’exception. Cet article montre que ces contradictions sont très importantes sur le plan théorique pour comprendre comment, dans l’État canadien contemporain, libéralisme et multiculturalisme coexistent avec un phénomène de ‘racialisation’ et de rejet de la différence.

Israel/Palestine, South Africa and the ‘One-State Solution’: The Case for an Apartheid Analysis

The application of the term ‘apartheid’ to the policies and practices of the Israeli state forms a flashpoint in contemporary global politics. South Africa has provided a point of comparison for many state formations, and we suggest that, overall, the apartheid analysis serves as a useful contribution regarding Israel/Palestine within the framework of comparative political science. Moreover, because of the transformation evident in South Africa since 1994, the reference to the apartheid experience draws attention to the possibility of change, and has been a central element in discussions of the ‘one-state solution’ to the Middle East conflict. Adopting an approach consistent with the comparative method in political science, we see comparison as a means through which to highlight both similarities and differences between Israel (post-1948 and post-1967) and the apartheid-era South African context.

Recognition, Re-distribution and Solidarity: The Case of Multicultural Canada

Abu-Laban argues that the case of Canada is theoretically rich for theorising issues around mobilisation, claims-making, recognition as well as solidarity. Her chapter establishes that unequal social relations and the denial of full citizenship rights characterised Canada’s foundation and evolution. As a consequence claims for cultural recognition were typically also redistributive claims, and the consolidation and early development of the Canadian welfare state also supported the advancement of a culturally pluralist nation. With the neo-liberal turn, this ethos has been strained with growing socio-economic inequalities as well as the advancement of patriotic citizenship expressions. While the current government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been refashioning the symbolic order in culturally pluralist ways and challenging austerity measures, it is an open question about what the future holds.

Building a New Citizenship Regime? Immigration and Multiculturalism in Canada

One of the most potent legal regimes governing the division of advantage and disadvantage between peoples at global and national levels is citizenship. Utilizing government documents, print media accounts and secondary sources, her chapter examines the evolution of Canada’s immigration policy between 2006 and 2016. Overall this period has been characterized by greater exclusion. This is because policy reforms in the past decade have included numerous changes introduced by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (in power from 2006–2015) which combined to make Canadian citizenship harder to obtain (and easier to lose), reduce the number of refugee claimants and control the flows of refugees (in the face of growing numbers globally), and intensify the surveillance of borders and belonging in ways that are racialized and gendered.