Making visible the invisible: Exploring institutional gaps and counter-hegemonic discourses in the Spanish protection system for unaccompanied migrant minors
Author
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-01-31
Pages
75
Abstract
This thesis examines the systemic inefficiencies within the Spanish protection system for unaccompanied migrant minors (UMMs) and former minors under guardianship, focusing on the pivotal role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as counter-hegemonic actors. Using Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, this study investigates how NGOs construct antagonistic, counter-hegemonic discourses that reveal and address systemic gaps as well as creating alternative narratives to the naturalized state’s discourse. With this in mind, this thesis highlights the role of NGOs in advocating for the rights and dignity of vulnerable individuals. Through an in-depth analysis of the protection system and the narratives surrounding UMMs, this thesis identifies struggles for meaning between the state’s hegemonic discourse- framing UMMs as “migrants first” and “children second”- and the counter-discourses constructed by NGOs. This research’s findings reveal systemic failures identified through the analysis of the data compiled through semi-structured interviews, as well as of the existing literature on the state of UMMs’ rights in the Spanish context. These systemic failures include unreliable age-determination practices, inadequate resources, and a lack of comprehensive emancipation programs, which collectively result in institutional abandonment and marginalization. NGOs challenge these inefficiencies or “gaps” by reframing terms such as “protection” and “abandonment,” exposing the systemic racism and migration control logics that underlie the Spanish system. This research highlights the pivotal role of NGOs in contesting dominant narratives and advocating for structural reforms. It contributes to the fields of migration studies, discourse analysis, and child protection.
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