"Contesting the Borders of Human Rights: Migrants, Civil Society, and Participatory Governance in Portugal"

Supervisor/s: Gaia Giuliani and Francesca Esposito

Doctoral Programme: Human Rights in Contemporary Societies

Since 2015, following the onset of the so-called "migrant crisis", migration management in Europe has increasingly prioritised border securitisation, creating tensions with international human rights commitments. Portugal, despite its relatively inclusive migration discourse, faces growing challenges in ensuring migrants' effective access to fundamental rights. This project examines how Portuguese border governance shapes migrants' everyday experiences and how civil society initiatives address gaps in rights protection. Focusing on the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Odemira council (Alentejo), and Ponta Delgada (Azores), it analyses the interaction between migration policies, institutional practices, and solidarity networks. Using a mixed-methods approach - combining policy analysis, thematic analysis of interviews, participant observation, and participatory workshops, and grounded theory and NVivo software for both qualitative and quantitative findings - the study contributes to debates on migration governance and human rights, while developing participatory policy recommendations to support more inclusive, rights-based migration governance in Portugal.