Directory of Research and Expertise

---

Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

Colonies & Colonization, emigration & immigration, Communities, Classes, Races, Digitisation, Globalization & Development, Human rights, Political Institutions, Regional history, Social Sciences

Research keywords:

Citizenship and noncitizenship, legal and digital identity, statelessness, race and anti-racism, identity and belonging, Latin America and the Caribbean, international development, slavery and settler colonialism, social policy, inclusion/exclusion

Regions:

Caribbean, North America, South America, United Kingdom

Summary of research interests and expertise:

Dr Hayes de Kalaf’s work examines the use and abuse of modern-day identity-based digital development 'solutions' within and beyond the international development sector - including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - which aim to provide all people, everywhere with a legal and, increasingly, digital identity over the next decade. Her critically acclaimed book 'Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner', published with a Foreword by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dominican American author Junot Di´az, focuses specifically on access to citizenship across Latin America and the Caribbean examining how states can manufacture, block or deny access to citizens - including the migrant-descended - to their documentation. This includes the growing influence of international organisations such as the World Bank over facilitating the en masse introduction of digital identification systems. Her recent work on the AHRC-funded project ‘The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context’ included extensive research across Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the creation of an online digital oral history archive examining the historical origins of this major controversy.

Languages:

	Spoken	Written
French	Fluent	Fluent
Spanish	Fluent	Fluent
German	Fluent	Intermediate
Portuguese	Fluent	Fluent
Other:	Haitian Creole

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
01-Dec-2024	Reframing the Windrush Scandal as an International Statelessness Crisis Articles The 2018 so-termed ‘Windrush scandal’ highlighted the discriminatory actions of the British state against Commonwealth migrants who, having legally settled in the United Kingdom in the post-war period, found their right to remain wrongly challenged by the Home Office. The controversy led to threats of deportation and incarceration for some while others found they were locked out of the country indefinitely. This article examines some of the ways in which racialised and minority groups can encounter ‘statelessness-like’ experiences in their everyday interactions with the state while also exploring some of the far-reaching and unexpected consequences of measures that have historically attempted to limit migration from the Caribbean and the broader Commonwealth to the United Kingdom. Drawing upon extensive oral history interviews conducted as part of the project ‘The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context’, this paper argues that the scandal provides statelessness scholars with a much-needed window into the distinct ways in which Global North countries have sought to prevent migrants and their descendants, many of whom see themselves as citizens, from full enjoyment of their rights. Ultimately, the author proposes that the (re)positioning of the Windrush scandal as a crisis worthy of international attention will firmly embed the inclusion of this controversy into the field of statelessness studies while opening up new opportunities for cultural, political and legal exploration of the broader ways in which people’s claims to citizenship recognition can be thwarted, overridden or ignored by the state.
08-Oct-2024	What price inclusion when academic conferences remain child-free zones? - Times Higher Education Articles It’s not enough to talk about the inclusion of women and diversity in academia. If we’re not willing to embed these principles within the very fabric of the work we do and the spaces we occupy, then what exactly is the point?
18-Jan-2024	Are Academia and Motherhood incompatible? - Times Higher Education Articles While UK universities are starting to address the challenges faced by new mothers, combining parenthood and academia remains a difficult task. Five writers give their experience of what institutions are getting right and wrong in supporting academic mums.
01-May-2023	Digital Identity: Emerging Trends, Debates and Controversies. Women In Identity. Co-authored with Kimberly Fernandes, University of Pennsylvania Research aids Building on the extended bibliography that formed part of our Women In Identity Human Impact report, and the rapid development of the digital identity since initial publication, we decided to commission a dedicated literature review to support our work in developing a Global ID Code of Conduct. This review, written by Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf (University of London) and Kimberly Fernandes (University of Pennsylvania), summarises the emerging trends, debates and controversies surrounding digital identities. The authors look at global examples of how digital identity is working in practice, and re-iterate the requirements for inclusive and equitable solutions that work for all.
17-Mar-2023	Book Review - Journal of Latin American Studies Review Jack Webb, Roderick Westmaas, María del Pilar Kaladeen and William Tantam (eds.), Memory, Migration and (De)Colonisation in the Caribbean and Beyond (London: University of London Press, Institute of Latin American Studies, 2020), xii + 187 pp.
07-Feb-2023	Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner London: Anthem Press Series in Citizenship and National Identities Monographs Paperback edition with Foreword by Junot Díaz.
27-Jan-2023	Anger as Home Secretary ditches key review recommendations, failing Windrush scandal survivors and campaigners - History & Policy Articles
15-Jan-2023	A New Expression of Dominicanidad: The Dominican ID Card, Technology and Race. In Jiménez Polanco, J., & Sagás, E. (2023) Dominican Politics in the Twenty-First Century: Continuity and Change. New York, London: Routledge. Chapters
02-Sep-2022	Chocolate, Children, and the Curriculum: Child Exploitation and the Dominican Cocoa Industry. In Blackman, Stacey N. J. (2022) Equitable Education for Marginalized Youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. New York, London: Routledge. Chapters
23-May-2022	At “tipping point”: New Report signals limited drive within the Home Office properly to address the Windrush Scandal - History & Policy Articles
01-Nov-2021	Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner London: Anthem Press Series in Citizenship and National Identities. Monographs This book offers a critical perspective into social policy architectures primarily in relation to questions of race, national identity and belonging in the Americas. It is the first to identify a connection between the role of international actors in promoting the universal provision of legal identity in the Dominican Republic with arbitrary measures to restrict access to citizenship paperwork from populations of (largely, but not exclusively) Haitian descent. The book highlights the current gap in global policy that overlooks the possible alienating effects of social inclusion measures promulgated by international organisations, particularly in countries that discriminate against migrant-descended populations. It also supports concerns regarding the dangers of identity management, noting that as administrative systems improve, new insecurities and uncertainties can develop. Crucially, the book provides a cautionary tale over the rapid expansion of identification practices, offering a timely critique of global policy measures which aim to provide all people everywhere with a legal identity in the run-up to the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
03-Aug-2021	How some countries are using digital ID to exclude vulnerable people around the world, The Conversation. Articles
28-May-2021	Digital identity, rights and citizenship in Latin America and the Caribbean: who are we including and who is being left behind? Articles
03-Jun-2019	Making Foreign: Legal Identity, Social Policy and the Contours of Belonging in the Contemporary Dominican Republic - PhD Thesis Chapters This empirical, multidisciplinary study offers a critical perspective into social policy architectures primarily in relation to questions of race, national identity and belonging in the Americas. It is the first to identify a connection between the universal provision of legal identity in the Dominican Republic with arbitrary measures to restrict access to citizenship paperwork from populations of (largely, but not exclusively) Haitian descent. The study highlights the current gap in global policy that overlooks the possible alienating effects of social inclusion measures, particularly in countries that discriminate against migrant-descended populations. It also supports concerns in scholarship regarding the dangers of identity management, noting that as administrative systems improve, new insecurities and uncertainties can develop (Seltzer and Anderson, 2001; Bigo, 2006; Lyon, 2009). The project therefore serves as a warning about the potential use of social policy architectures for authoritarian practices. In this regard, it offers a timely critique of global policy measures to provide all people everywhere with a legal identity in the run-up to the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
01-Jan-2019	Making Foreign: Legal Identity, Social Policy and the Contours of Belonging in the Contemporary Dominican Republic', in Cruz-Martínez, G. (ed.) Welfare and Social Protection in Contemporary Latin America. London: Routledge. Chapters
19-Jun-2015	Dominican Republic has taken citizenship from up to 200,000 and is getting away with it, The Conversation. Articles
08-Apr-2015	How a group of Dominicans were stripped of their nationality and now face expulsion to Haiti, The Conversation Articles
01-Apr-2014	'Stateless in the Caribbean', in Haiti Briefing 76. London: Haiti Support Group. Journal articles

Publications available on SAS-space:

Date	Details
Apr-2023	Digital Identity: Emerging Trends, Debates and Controversies NonPeerReviewed Building on the extended bibliography that formed part of our Women In Identity Human Impact report, and the rapid development of the digital identity since initial publication, we decided to commission a dedicated literature review to support our work in developing a Global ID Code of Conduct. This review, written by Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf (University of London) and Kimberly Fernandes (University of Pennsylvania), summarises the emerging trends, debates and controversies surrounding digital identities. The authors look at global examples of how digital identity is working in practice, and re-iterate the requirements for inclusive and equitable solutions that work for all.
Jan-2023	Anger as Home Secretary ditches key review recommendations, failing Windrush scandal survivors and campaigners NonPeerReviewed This week, the Home Secretary Suella Braverman provided the UK parliament with an update on the government’s delivery of recommendations as outlined in the 2020 Windrush Lessons Learned Review. This included the announcement that the Home Office is dropping three of the 30 recommendations provided by the author of the review, Wendy Williams, who was appointed by the government as an independent advisor in the aftermath of the Windrush scandal.
Apr-2022	At “tipping point”: New report signals limited drive within the Home Office properly to address the Windrush scandal NonPeerReviewed In a much anticipated independent review published on the Windrush scandal last week, Wendy Williams warns that the Home Office is at “tipping point” and must maintain momentum to ensure systemic and cultural change.
Sep-2023	COST Action Blog: A Legal Identity for All? NonPeerReviewed The History of Identity Documentation in European Nations (HIDDEN) network unites scholars in history, migration studies, geography, sociology, law, linguistics, postcolonial studies, human rights and more to look at the history of ID regimes in Europe and beyond, drawing connections between the past and present.

Publications available on SAS-space

Research Projects & Supervisions

Research projects:

Details

The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context This three-year research project seeks, for the first time, to produce a scholarly examination of the so-called ‘Windrush Scandal’ within a fully transnational framework, one that properly considers the agency of a wide variety of official and non-official actors from both sides of the Atlantic and the role of the post-colonial and Commonwealth contexts of international relations. The project’s key objective is to develop a unique digital research resource of extended interviews on the national and diplomatic activism around the Windrush scandal, supported by digitized government documents from the British archives and Caribbean government records.

Professional Affiliations

Professional affiliations:

Name	Activity
Haiti Support Group	Secretary
Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS)	Board member
Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)	RESI is a global advisory network based at the Overseas Development Institute, working with Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Relevant Events

Related events:

Date	Details
03-Dec-2024	Hauntings of Islands’ Sovereignties: An Examination of Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago’s Response to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis Speakers: Natalie Dietrich Jones, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), University of the West Indies and Shiva Mohan, Toronto Metropolitan University
19-Nov-2024	Science Paths to Emigrate. Networks of Collaboration Between Cuban Emigrants from Social Sciences and Humanities Speaker: Yaniedys Arencibia Coloma, University of Manchester
22-Oct-2024	Kout Kouto: Genocide in the Caribbean and the Stories of Betrayal Speaker: Sophie Maríñez, City University of New York Discussant: Eve Hayes de Kalaf
24-Sep-2024	Jessica Huntley's Pan-African Life - The Power and The Pain of 'The Below': Constructing Histories of Invisibilised Black Lives Speaker: Claudia Tomlinson, independent
09-Apr-2024	Dancing Beyond the Black: A New Afro-Diasporic Ethnographic Research Method Speaker: Safiya Kinshasa, University of Leeds
19-Mar-2024	Black Caribbean archive: Sites, methods and imagination Speaker: Olivier Marboeuf, The University of London Institute in Paris
20-Feb-2024	“Wi Likkle, But Wi Tallawah”: Northampton Town Blacktivism and Matta Fancanta Black Caribbean Youth, 1970-85 Speaker: Tré Ventour-Griffiths, Kingston University
05-Dec-2023	Writing, Reading, Sounding, Painting: Humans and Nonhumans in Caribbean Neo-slave Narratives Speaker: Renée Landell, ILCS Practitioner in Residence, University of London
07-Nov-2023	Photos and Phantasms: Decolonizing institutional archives and Harry Johnston’s photographs of the Caribbean (1908–1909) Speaker: Joanne Norcup, Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies, University of Warwick
10-Oct-2023	Caribbean Collections for the Future? Speaker: Amara Thornton. Institute of Classical Studies, University of London
18-Apr-2023	'Companionship of Minds': Nancy Cunard and the Anglophone Caribbean Press in the 1930s and 1940s Speaker: Anna Girling, Institute of English Studies, University of London.
14-Mar-2023	What does a genuinely just transition mean for the Caribbean? Speaker: Matthew Bishop, University of Sheffield
07-Dec-2022	A Crisis of Legitimacy: Assessing the Decivilizing Process of the State of Trinidad and Tobago Speaker: Melissa Mendez, Cardiff University
01-Nov-2022	The Future of Black Community Organisations in 21st Century Britain: An Engaged Ethnography Speaker: Shey Fyffe, BCU, Chair: Jake Gandy
04-Oct-2022	Three Scenes from a Jamaican Childhood, Including the Unspeakable Speaker: Thomas Glave, University of Liverpool
07-Jul-2022	Society for Caribbean Studies Book presentation
14-Jun-2022	Black British Magazines Posed for their 'True' African Nature Speaker: Kadija George (School of Advanced Study, University of London) Chair: Nick Brown (independent)
10-May-2022	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - The Other Windrush: Legacies of Indenture in Britain’s Caribbean Empire Chair: Marta Fernández Campa (Independent scholar) Speaker:  María del Pilar Kaladeen (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
26-Apr-2022	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - Old but not cold: ‘Mi old but mi nuh cold’ Chair: Amber Lascelles (University of Bristol) Speaker: Audrey Allwood (Goldsmiths, University of London)
22-Mar-2022	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - Rastafari in Britain and the Geographies of Ethiopianism Chair: Jo Norcup (University of Warwick) Speaker: Aleema Gray (University of Warwick)
22-Feb-2022	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - Nothing of this Kind in Britain: Caribbean Radicalism and Revolutionary Epistemologies Across the 1960s Black Atlantic Chair: Rod Westmaas (Guyana SPEAKS) Speaker: James Cantres (City University of New York)
25-Jan-2022	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - Speaking of contraband. Presentation of 'Islanders and Empire: Smuggling and Political Defiance in Hispaniola, 1580-1690' Chair: Simeon Simeonov (Brown University) Speaker: Juan José Ponce Vázquez (University of Alabama)
07-Dec-2021	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - Papers for The People: The Radical Press of the Late Colonial Caribbean Speaker: Kesewa John (UCL Institute of the Americas) Chair: Zakiya McKenzie (Exeter)
01-Dec-2021	Book Launch - Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner. Anthem Series in Citizenship and National Identities. Chair: David Howard, Associate Professor in Sustainable Urban Development (University of Oxford) Discussants: Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning Dominican-American writer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Raj Chetty, associate professor, English Department (St John's University)
16-Nov-2021	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - The Warfare Origins of the Anti-Slave-Trade Legal Regime in the Atlantic World Speaker: Jake Subryan Richards (LSE) Chair: Adom Philogene Heron (Goldsmiths)
12-Oct-2021	Caribbean Studies Seminar Series - A Revindication of Haitian Futures: Beyond Disaster Discourses Speaker: Mimi Sheller (Dean of the Global School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute)  Chair:  Shodona Kettle (UCL Institute of the Americas)
24-Jun-2021	CLACS Conference - (Re)Imagining Belonging in Latin America and Beyond: Access to Citizenship, Digital Identity and Rights. Day 2. Organised by Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf. Held by the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) in collaboration with the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI).
23-Jun-2021	CLACS Conference - (Re)Imagining Belonging in Latin America and Beyond: Access to Citizenship, Digital Identity and Rights. Day 1. Organised by Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf. Held by the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) in collaboration with the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI).
08-Apr-2021	University of Liverpool Conference - Memory and Representation in Latin America Organiser of virtual event as part of the AHRC-funded project 'Memory, Victims, and Representation of the Colombian Conflict' with the University of Liverpool.

Knowledge transfer activities:

Details
Nèg Mawon Podcast [Scholar Series #15] "Legal Identity: Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic". A Conversation with Dr. Eve Hayes de Kalaf
Between the Lines Institute of Development Studies Podcast In this episode of the IDS podcast Between the Lines, IDS Research Fellow Tony Roberts interviews Eve Hayes de Kalaf, author of the book Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner. The author discusses amongst other things; What motivated them to write the book? And what stories of lived experiences were important in developing this book?
Book Launch - Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner Chair: David Howard, Associate Professor in Sustainable Urban Development (University of Oxford) Discussants: Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning Dominican-American writer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Raj Chetty, associate professor, English Department (St John's University)
Talking Legal Identity, Race and Belonging with Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf Women in Identity interview with Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at London University’s Institute of Modern Languages Research.
Pre-book Launch: Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic Dr Hayes de Kalaf's research offers uncomfortable insights into the use and abuse of modern-day identity-based development 'solutions' for exclusionary and citizenship-stripping practices. At this pre-launch of her first book, "Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner", Dr Hayes de Kalaf will present the definitive analysis of the events leading up to the controversial 2013 Constitutional Tribunal ruling which rendered the plaintiff Juliana Deguis Pierre stateless.
From Citizen to Foreigner: How Digital IDs can be used to exclude the Marginalised Jessica Pandian interviews Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Institute of Modern Languages Research, about her new book, ‘Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic: From Citizen to Foreigner’. Published as part of the Anthem Series on citizenship and national identities, the book offers a critical perspective into the connection between international actors promoting the universal provision of legal identity, and the Dominican state restricting access to citizenship from largely, but not exclusively, populations of Haitian descent.

Consultancy & Media

Media experience:

Yes

Back to top