Power Relations in the Voluntary Work with Immigrants. A Qualitative Study of a Migrant Self-Organisation in Bologna, Italy

Sammanfattning: This qualitative study of a migrant self-organisation in Bologna, Italy analyses the power relations between immigrants and supporters within the field of voluntary work in the migration sector. Based on eight semi-structured interviews it explores the perception of power relations of the members of the intercultural association Spazio per tutti. The material was analysed with the help of thematic analysis and a postcolonial and intersectional perspective. In the first part of the discussion, it is demonstrated, along the theory of “strange encounters” of Sara Ahmed (2000), how dominant norms, such as the invisible norm of whiteness, are still present in the association and immigrants are confronted with the paradigm of integration. The second part of the analysis shows instead, with the help of Homi Bhabha’s theory of the third space (1994), how the association creates a space where fixed identities and roles can be challenged and negotiated. By taking the intersectional approach into account, it gets further clear that the internal power relations are more complex for being grasped along binary categories (e.g. immigrants and non-immigrants), as they for example do not reflect the special subject position of Black women. In a nutshell, the present case study demonstrates the need to draw the attention to the political dimension of social work with immigrants and to create more awareness for intersectional justice, also within organisations that already follow an empowerment approach.