Mobilities, migration and Covid-19 in Italy and the UK: qualitative comparative perspectives from two towns

Fani, Alice

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent declaration of a pandemic in March 2020 led to a period of fast-paced policy changes and shifting landscapes of risk and threat. In order to control the spreading of the virus, most democratic states adopted a national repertoire of measures to control mobilities within and through their own borders. Such measures included lockdowns, restriction of movement within states, social isolation, quarantine, vaccine passports/passes and border closures. This thesis investigates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on local experiences of mobility and migration in Massa (Italy) and Crewe (UK). Through a qualitative comparative methodology utilising semi-structured interviews, this research examines how different national responses to the pandemic shaped local narratives of solidarity and exclusion towards migrants. The research draws from and builds on work within Border Criminology on mobilities, global inequalities and sovereignty and heeds the call from within Border Criminology for more global and comparative research in this area. The study shows how national pandemic measures exacerbated pre-existing anti- immigrant discourses, merging them with public health concerns to perpetuate and justify continued practices of othering and criminalisation, distinguishing between safe and unsafe bodies and routinising exclusion through everyday bordering.

Citation

Fani, A. (2025). Mobilities, migration and Covid-19 in Italy and the UK: qualitative comparative perspectives from two towns. (Thesis). Keele University. https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1279862

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Online Publication Date: Jun 26, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2025
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1279862
• Additional Information: Embargo on access until 1 April 2030 - The thesis includes information that was obtained under a promise of confidentiality.; Indefinite embargo on full text version - The thesis includes information that was obtained under a promise of confidentiality.
• Award Date: 2025-06