Boundary work: Investigating the expert role of Danish migration researchers

Theoretically, this article investigates the politicisation of migration research in relation to boundary work between different spheres of the Danish public debate about migration, including research, media and politics. Empirically, the article analyses the roles that Danish migration researchers have played in such debates over the last two decades. Besides, the article presents and analyses results from a survey among migration researchers employed in four of Denmark’s six universities. The survey showed that while the majority of respondents did not feel unsafe participating in the public debate about migration, more than two out of five did. Jeopardising one’s professional reputation appeared to be a major concern. The article ends with a discussion of the survey results in relation to academic boundary work and presents suggestions for the road ahead, both for individual researchers and academic institutions.