Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad

The report presents findings from 80 semi-structured interviews with Polish and Romanian migrants in Barcelona and Oslo. It explores how these individuals perceive democracy, corruption, and social rights in their host and origin countries, and analyzes the motivations and barriers associated with voting from abroad. Key findings indicate that while migration can broaden perspectives, it rarely fundamentally shifts core political alignments. Voting behaviour is influenced by a mix of national identity, tactical goals, and practical accessibility, with mobilisation occurring primarily through personal networks rather than state-led campaigns.

• Voting behaviour among migrants is fluid rather than binary; most have voted at various times, both before and after migrating, while very few consistently vote or never vote.
• There is a lack of consensus within diasporas regarding the right to vote from abroad, as the desire for national belonging often conflicts with concerns over democratic legitimacy.
• Technical barriers and the lack of perceived viable political options are significant obstacles to diaspora voting, though the latter is viewed as a larger hurdle than technical facilitation.
• State-led efforts to increase electoral turnout among migrants are largely ineffective or unnoticed; mobilisation is instead driven by transnational and personal networks.
• Migration generally does not cause a fundamental shift in political orientation (such as moving from right-wing to left-wing), although it may lead to the formation of new opinions on specific issues.
• Some migrants engage in 'proxy' voting, where their ballot reflects the views of family or friends in the country of origin rather than their own personal beliefs.
• Migrants generally do not believe that social or political solutions from Norway or Spain should be directly applied to Poland or Romania due to perceived systemic differences.
• Perceptions of democracy and corruption vary by nationality and location; Romanians in both cities generally view corruption as worse in Romania than in Spain or Norway, while Poles in Barcelona often see corruption levels as comparable between Poland and Spain/Norway.
• There is a near-unanimous view among respondents that Spain and Norway provide better protection for the rights of sexual minorities than Poland and Romania.
• Polish migrants in Oslo perceive their community as more temporary and less integrated than Polish migrants in Barcelona, which correlates with a lower perceived influence of the host environment on their political views.

APA

Bertelli, D., Kussy, A., Mikiewicz, G., Tulbure, C., Erdal, M. B., Szulecki, K., & Cosciug, A. (2021). Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/fba23bc2-02cc-4c0c-809c-d88bffb4dc10/Erdal - Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad PRIO Paper 2021.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Bertelli, Davide, Angelina Kussy, Gabriella Mikiewicz, Corina Tulbure, Marta Bivand Erdal, Kacper Szulecki, and Anatolie Cosciug. Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2021. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/fba23bc2-02cc-4c0c-809c-d88bffb4dc10/Erdal - Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad PRIO Paper 2021.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertelli |first1=Davide |last2=Kussy |first2=Angelina |last3=Mikiewicz |first3=Gabriella |last4=Tulbure |first4=Corina |last5=Erdal |first5=Marta Bivand |last6=Szulecki |first6=Kacper |last7=Cosciug |first7=Anatolie |title=Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2021 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/fba23bc2-02cc-4c0c-809c-d88bffb4dc10/Erdal - Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad PRIO Paper 2021.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertelli2021migrant, author = {Bertelli, Davide and Kussy, Angelina and Mikiewicz, Gabriella and Tulbure, Corina and Erdal, Marta Bivand and Szulecki, Kacper and Cosciug, Anatolie}, title = {{Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2021}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/fba23bc2-02cc-4c0c-809c-d88bffb4dc10/Erdal - Migrant Political Engagement and Voting from Abroad PRIO Paper 2021.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }