The NAVSCHEN project is the first dedicated historical analysis of all worldwide available primary sources on the transnational roots, debates and conditions for the implementation of the EU’s Free Movement of Persons. Indeed, changing attitudes towards human mobility rights constitute a key indicator of more profound societal changes. Hence, studying them provides timely and essential tools to for the scenario design of globally interconnected and democratically sustainable societies. The main consulted archives comprise the Historical Archives of the EU (HAEU), the Historical Archives of the European Parliament (HAEP) and the ‘Barbara Sloan EU Delegation Collection (BSEUDC)’, hosted at the University of Pittsburgh Archives.
The host institution during the outgoing phase was the European Studies Center (ESC) of the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), site of the BSEUDC. The host institution during the incoming phase was the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The project’s overall objective is to highlight: a) the value of critical historical analysis and b) the normative legacies on human mobility rights in the European integration process to address the current challenges of the European Union (EU)’s Free Movement of Persons. In short, this documentary corpus could help us ‘look back’ in order to ‘see beyond’ by unveiling neglected archives and by shedding light on key historical testimonies in this realm. Indeed, the historical, legal and socio-political European integration intangible heritage of a Free Movement of Person as a policy-relevant foothold is presently being disregarded. Furthermore, there is an overbearing influence of legal, political and sociological studies on these issues, while the historical analysis scholarly production has not yet sufficiently contributed to a balance with its critical outlook. Against this backdrop, this project aims to bridge this gap. The project’s timeline will examine human mobility rights in light of the historical analysis of the European integration process from 1985, the inception of the Schengen Area, while paying attention to key precursors of this game-changing and inclusive European policy.
The Fellow was Co-Convenor and Coordinator of the International Conference ‘Mobility and Human Rights in European Integration: Perspectives from the Past’, held at the ESC of the University of Pittsburgh and Convenor and Chair of the International Workshop ‘The Transatlantic Relation from 2021: Where do we go from here?’, organised as Chair of the North America Chapter of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA-NA).
In 2020 the Fellow was Invited Lecturer at the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence (JMCE) of the University of Florida on the topic of ‘The Historical Legacies of the EU’s Free Movement of Persons: Our human mobility rights in a post(?) COVID-19 context?’, in collaboration with the ‘Jean Monnet in the USA’ Program.
In 2021 the Fellow she gave the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow Lecture 2021 at the European Studies Center (ESC) of the University of Pittsburgh and was Invited Lecturer at the Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET) of the University of Vienna.
The Fellow’s main publications for this period include two peer reviewed OA journal articles: 1) 'Schengen as a Political Territory: Sources of Differentiation in the EU's Free Movement of Persons' from 1985', Politique Européenne, 67-68(1), 26–52. and 2) 'Salvador de Madariaga's meeting points with Julien Freund: 'Europe' as Construction and Evolution'. International Political Anthropology (IPA), 14(1), 43–48.
The Fellow also presented the current research results of the NAVSCHEN project in relevant international research conferences (ECPR, CES, IPSA, IMISCOE, University of Cambridge, etc.) and in outreach events such as the European Researchers’ Night 2021, also acting as ‘International Politics of Migration, Refugees and Diaspora (IPMRD)’ Working Group Best Article Award Committee Member 2020 at the British International Studies Association (BISA).
