Penal management of racialized groups in Spain

• In Event: : Imprisonment, Racialization and Right-Wing Populism in Europe I

Abstract

Like in the majority of European countries, racism is largely and intentionally overlooked in public and political conversations in Spain. In contrast to many other EU jurisdictions, though, anti-migration sentiments are not particularly widespread in Spain. This collective mood that we may metaphorically call ‘racial ataraxia’ is intriguing, because Spain has been receiving relatively large contingents of migrants and asylum seekers since the early 2000s and has been affected by the far right wave sweeping across Europe in the recent past. Despite this political scenario, the percentage of noncitizen prisoners was declining unabated for years until recently and the immigration detention system has been constantly shrinking over the last fifteen years. This paper scrutinises if, to what extent and why Spain differs from other European countries in terms of the political significance of migration issues and the role to be played by the carceral state in managing unwanted noncitizen groups. For these purposes, the paper considers the various forces giving shape to the nexus between race, migration and penality in the Spanish case.

Authors

• Jose Angel Brandariz, University of A Coruna

• Cristina Fernández-Bessa, University of A Coruna