Rethinking Migrant Hierarchies: Non-Citizen Political Engagement and Policy Cycles in South Korea

Abstract

Most migrants in South Korea reside in the country as foreign citizens. Access to citizenship and social rights are tied to residence status, resulting in differential treatment of foreign-born residents. This article contributes to research on non-citizen hierarchies by demonstrating the formation of fluid hierarchies through a case study of non-citizen political engagement in South Korea during Covid-19. The study employs critical policy discourse as an analytical lens to examine policy cycles as they develop through negotiations between state and society. The findings show that the hierarchization of non-citizens evolves throughout policy cycles and operates incoherently across sets of policies. The formation of fluid hierarchies is discussed with implications for migration policy and the study of migrant hierarchies.