---

Laura Block asks how liberal democracies manage to
restrict migration in spite of liberal constraints. She analyses the political
debates surrounding spousal migration policies from 2005-2010 in Germany and
reveals government strategies that restrict spousal migration while staying
within the discursive realm of individual rights. By circumscribing and
scrutinising both the membership status necessary to access the right to family
protection and the family ties in question, restricting spousal migration is
legitimised.

---

A theoretical framework for the analysis of spousal
migration policies.- Empirical
and legal realities of spousal migration to Germany.- The
European dimension of family migration policies.- Political
and institutional frames on spousal migration.- The "other" side: transnational couples´ and
migrant advocates´ perspectives.

---

Laura Block works as a project coordinator for Arbeitsgemeinschaft der deutschen Familienorganisationen (AGF), Berlin.

---