The politicisation of migrant minors: Italo-Romanian geopolitics and EU integration

The article will address the different political connotations achieved by Romanian young people's migration to Italy (Rome) and their involvement in illegal activities by drawing on the findings of a two-year (2006-2008) research project. The research took place during the final phase of negotiation of Romania's entry into the EU, and was aimed at understanding the nexus between young people's migration, their recourse to illegal activities and the role of social intervention. The article will argue that the (geo)political situation encompassing Romania's entry into the EU shaped the power dynamics and the discursive fields within which young migrants, institutions and NGOs acted according to their contrasting priorities and mandates, by deploying different strategic understandings of what constitutes 'the best interest of the child'.