Dr Pierre Monforte

Associate Professor

Room: 2.01. 107-111 Princess Road East
Tel: +44 (0)11-6252-2780 (direct line)
Email: pm260@le.ac.uk

Personal details

• MA (Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne)
• PhD (European University Institute, Florence)
• Post-doctoral fellowship (Université de Montréal)
• FHEA

Teaching

Undergraduate

• SY1015: Ethnicity and Society (Module convenor)
• SY3092: Social Movements and Collective action (Module convenor)
• SY3042: Undergraduate Research Project

Postgraduate

• SY7038: Digital Politics (Module convenor)
• SY7005: Masters dissertations (Module convenor)
• Supervision of Masters and PhD Theses

Administrative duties

• Programme Director: MSc in Social Research

Research

My research is broadly situated within the field of political sociology. My interests are in social movements studies, migration and citizenship, and European studies. I focus primarily on civil society and social movements, with a particular emphasis on movements of migrants and for migrants' rights. I have carried out empirical research on the mobilizations of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in France, Germany, Canada and at the European Union level, from a comparative perspective. I examine theoretical and empirical questions on immigration, citizenship, European politics, and the representation of interests at various levels of governance in a context of europeanization. Recently, I have also worked on volunteering in the contexts of austerity policies and the 'refugee crisis'.

Research projects

• The transformative capacity of blood donation among ethnic minorities in redefining citizenship and solidarity in ethnically diverse societies
• Research team: Lesley Hustinx (University of Ghent, PI), Pierre Monforte (Co-I)
• Duration: January 2020 - December 2024
• Funder: Flanders Research Foundation (FWO), £330K

This project aims to explore why ethnic minorities are under-represented within the current blood donation system in Europe. Through the comparison between Belgium and the UK, we aim to explore how ethnic minorities challenge the organization of blood collection, both from an organizational point of view and from the minorities’ perspective. More generally, we seek to analyse the relation between the experience of blood donation by ethnic minorities and their position in society, in particular in terms of how they perceive themselves as citizens.

• Exploring the Frames of Altruistic Action
• Research team: Pierre Monforte (PI), Estelle D'Halluin (Université de Nantes, Co-I), Gaja Maestri (University of Leicester, PDRA), Elsa Rambaud (Université de Nantes, PDRA)
• Duration: January 2017 - December 2019
• Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (ES/N015274/1), £410K
• Website: https://altruism.hypotheses.org

This project aims to question current debates on the 'migration crisis' and how ideas of hospitality, altruism, solidarity, care, or compassion are constructed and enacted. Through the focus on volunteers involved in charities and networks active in the pro-asylum sector, we aim to analyse how individuals reflect upon their engagement processes and define the practices, values and ethos that relate to their collective action. The project is based on a comparative approach and on qualitative research methods: we will analyse volunteers’ reflections about their engagement in two contrasted settings (France and the United Kingdom).

• The UK Citizenship Process: Understanding Immigrants' Experiences
• Research team: Leah Bassel (PI), Pierre Monforte (CoI), David Bartram (CoI), Barbara Misztal (CoI)
• Duration: September 2013 - August 2017
• Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (ES/K010174/1), £439K

This project analyses the ‘assimilationist turn’ in British immigration and integration policies, through a focus on immigrants’ lived experience of one of its principal instruments, the ‘citizenship process’. This project adopts a comprehensive approach to these issues, examining the lived experiences of the citizenship process as a whole via interviews with people about their experiences with preparation courses and their participation in the citizenship tests and ceremonies in Leicester and London. To analyse the effects of the process on the longer term, statistical analysis of survey data are also being undertaken. The overall goal is to learn about immigrants' perceptions and experiences of this process, to understand how it affects their sense of belonging, political participation and subjective well-being (happiness).

• The Effects of the Life in the UK Test
• Research team: Leah Bassel, Pierre Monforte
• Duration: January 2012 - September 2012
• Funder: College of Social Science Research Development Fund, University of Leicester, £1,000.

This pilot study explored how the Citizenship Test introduced by the British government in 2005 affects the life of migrants living in the UK. The study led to the ESRC project 'The UK Citizenship Process' (2013-2017).

Publications

Books

• Monforte, Pierre (2014), Europeanizing Contention. The Protest against ‘Fortress Europe’ in France and Germany, Oxford: Berghahn Books. Reviews in: Social Movement Studies; Contemporary Sociology; H-France Review

• Bartram, David, Maritsa Poros and Pierre Monforte (2014), Key Concepts in Migration, London: Sage.

Journal articles

• Monforte, Pierre (2020, online first), 'Protesters’ emotional work in contexts of marginalisation: The emancipation of ‘forced migrants’ in Germany', Antipode.

• Maestri, Gaja and Monforte, Pierre (2020, online first), 'Who deserves compassion? The moral and emotional dilemmas of volunteering in the 'refugee crisis', Sociology.
• Monforte, Pierre (2020), 'From compassion to critical resilience: Volunteering in the context of austerity', The Sociological Review, 68(1): 110-126.
• Monforte, Pierre, Bassel, Leah and Khan, Kamran (2019), 'Deserving citizenship? Exploring migrants' experiences of the 'citizenship test' process in the United Kingdom', British Journal of Sociology, 70(1): 24-44.

• Bassel, Leah, Monforte, Pierre and Khan, Kamran (2018), 'Making political citizens? Migrants' narratives of naturalization in the United Kingdom', Citizenship Studies, 22(3): 225-242.

• Monforte, Pierre (2016) 'Le Royaume Uni: La tentation d'une île', Plein Droit, 111(4): 11-15.

• Monforte, Pierre (2016) 'The border as a space of contention: The spatial strategies of protest against border controls in Europe', Citizenship Studies, 20(3-4): 411-426.

• Monforte, Pierre (2014) 'The cognitive dimension of social movements’ europeanization processes', Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 15(1): 120-137.
• Monforte, Pierre and Dufour, Pascale (2013) 'Understanding collective actions of undocumented migrants in a comparative perspective: Protest as an act of emancipation', European Political Science Review, 5(1): 83-104.
• Monforte, Pierre and Dufour, Pascale (2011) 'Mobilizing in borderline citizenship regimes: A comparative analysis of undocumented migrants’ collective actions', Politics and Society, 39(2): 202-232.
• Monforte, Pierre (2010) 'Le secteur associatif face aux politiques européennes d’immigration et d’asile: Quels acteurs pour quels modes d’européanisation?', Politique Européenne, 31(2): 119-145.
• Monforte, Pierre (2009) 'Social movements and europeanization processes: The case of the French associations mobilizing around the asylum Issue', Social Movement Studies: Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest, 8(4): 409-425.
• Delouvin, Patrick, Monforte, Pierre and Teule, Catherine (2005) 'Lourdes menaces sur le droit d’asile en Europe', Hommes et Migrations, 1253(1): 98-104.

• Monforte, Pierre (2004) 'L'harmonisation communautaire: Objectif ou alibi?', Plein Droit, 59-60(1): 46-50.

Book chapters

• D’Halluin, Estelle, Maestri, Gaja, Monforte, Pierre and Rambaud, Elsa (forthcoming, 2020), “Comment (ne pas) Juger des Réfugiés? Déstabilisation et Réévaluations des Cadres du Mérite chez leurs Soutiens”, in Laura Ruiz de Elvira and Sahar Aurore Saeidnia (eds.), Les Mondes de la Bienfaisance: Une Approche Comparative des Pratiques du Bien, Paris: Editions de l’EHESS.
• Maestri, Gaja and Monforte, Pierre (forthcoming, 2020), “Victims and Agents: The Representation of Refugees in the British Migrant Support Sector”, in Katie Higgins and Samuel Burgum (eds.), How the Other Half Lives, Manchester: Manchester University Press
• Monforte, Pierre (2019), "From 'Fortress Europe' to 'Refugees Welcome': Social movements and the political imaginary on European borders", in Cristina Flesher Fominaya and Ramón Feenstra (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary European Social Movements, London: Routledge.
• Monforte, Pierre (2019), “La Crise de l’accueil au Royaume Uni: Redéfinition des frontières et maintien à distance des exilés”, in Annalisa Lendaro, Claire Rodier and Youri Lou Vertongen (eds.), La Crise de l’Accueil: Frontières, Droit, Résistances, Paris: La Découverte.

• Monforte, Pierre and Morales, Laura (2018), “The Participation, mobilisation and political representation of migrants in Europe”, in Agniezka Weinar, Saskia Bonjour and Lyubov Zhyznomirska (eds.), The Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Migration in Europe (Abingdon: Routledge).
• Monforte, Pierre (2013) 'Amnesty International', in Snow, David, della Porta, Donatella, Klandermans, Bert and MacAdam, Doug (eds.) The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social and Political Movements (Oxford: Blackwell).
• Monforte, Pierre (2013) 'Asylum rights' protest campaigns', in Snow, David, della Porta, Donatella, Klandermans, Bert and MacAdam, Doug (eds.) The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social and Political Movements (Oxford: Blackwell).
• Monforte, Pierre (2010) 'Transnational protest against migrants' exclusion: The emergence of new strategies of mobilization at the European level', in Chabanet, Didier and Royall, Frédéric (eds.) Mobilizing Against Marginalization in Europe (Cambridge Scholars Publishing).

Other publications

• Monforte, Pierre (2020), 'The Public Debates on Migrant Channel Crossing : Whose Voice is Legitimate?', Discover Society.

• Monforte, Pierre, d’Halluin, Estelle, Maestri, Gaja and Rambaud, Elsa (2019), 'Exploring the Frames of Altruistic Action: A Comparative Analysis of Volunteers’ Engagement in British and French Pro-Asylum Charities', Final ESRC Report (ES/N015274/1), University of Leicester.

• Bassel, Leah, Monforte, Pierre, Bartram, David and Khan, Kamran (2017), 'The UK Citizenship Process: Exploring Migrants' Experiences', Final ESRC Report (ES/K010174/1), University of Leicester. This report was published as evidence by the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement (refs. CCE0145; CCE0262).

• Monforte, Pierre (2012), 'Review of Immigration and Conflict in Europe by Rafaela M. Dancygier', Social Forces.
• Guiraudon, Virginie,  Kalnina, Ieva, Metters, Megan and Monforte, Pierre (2006) 'Immigration, Access to the Labour Market and Integration of Migrant Workers in the EU: A Comparative Analysis', Research Report, European University Institute, Florence. [Translated into Italian as 'Immigrazione, Accesso al Lavoro ed Integrazione dei Lavoratori non Comunitari nell’Unione Europea: un’analisi Comparata].

Supervision

I am happy to supervise PhD students interested in political sociology, with particular interests in social movements, immigration or European studies.

I am particularly interested in supervising students using qualitative methods and comparative approaches.

• find out more about applying for a PhD