Migration In The Western Mediterranean

The upheavals of the Arab Spring grabbed the world’s immediate attention, and concern quickly grew over their potential aftermath, with the fear that a ‘tidal wave’ of immigrants and refugees would ‘flood’ European territory. The Arab Spring has highlighted the Mediterranean as a migration region, and new research is now required to bring to light too often neglected mobility patterns and border practices that predate and outlast the tumultuous spring of 2011. The edited volume Space, Mobility and Borders in the Western Mediterranean tackles these contemporary issues related to migration in the Mediterranean region. It brings together high-quality, original academic contributions from both empirical and theoretical points of view by scholars from diverse disciplines, who draw upon Anglophone, Francophone, Spanish and Italian research. It reexamines borders in the light of a now full-blown body of literature that seeks to capture the complexity of their contemporary features beyond their most direct visual enactments, in particular the sweeping deployment of policing devices and operations along the North/South fault line. Another distinctive binding thread in this book is that it emphasizes migrants as active subjects interacting with local events, national policies and the bordering process. Offering an examination of the intricate interplay among the events of the Arab Spring, migration’s multiple types and actors, and the evolving relationship between migration control and borders in the region, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of migration studies, European Union Studies and Mediterranean Studies.

Uses epigraphic and linguistic evidence to track movements of people around the ancient Mediterranean.

"This book offers samples of the literary and cultural production of an innovative group of new Italian-language writers whose autobiographical texts focus on exploring their identities as immigrants in a Western country. This anthology contributes to the ongoing discussions on exile, diaspora, and migration by documenting the unique Italian case."--BOOK JACKET.

During the last two decades of the twentieth century, southern Europe became a key destination for global migration. Countries which had been important source countries for emigration, mainly to northern Europe, quickly became targets for international migrants coming from an extraordinary range of source countries. Today, the management of immigration is complex with countries torn between the need to satisfy the rules of Schengen and 'fortress Europe' on the one hand, and the economic benefits of cheap and flexible labour supplies on the other. This book brings together a variety of detailed studies recording the 'cultural encounters' of these migrants. Most of the chapters are based on detailed research in locations such as Lisbon, the Algarve, Barcelona, Turin, Bologna, Sicily and Athens, as well as in source countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Albania and the Philippines. What emerges is a scenario diverse and rapidly evolving, with cultural encounters which are both enriching and depressing, yet always fascinating.

Migration in the Mediterranean region is a widely debated and much studied topic. This is due to the present refugee crisis, consequences of Arab revolutions, the proximity with emigration and transit countries, but also to the involvement of southern European countries and the mass arrival of migrants. The management of Border controls, migration, development, human trafficking, human rights and the clash or convergence of civilizations has generated a great deal of controversy and media attention. Migration in the Mediterranean offers a unique multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological framework, bringing together scholars from different subject areas. This book aims to address the following research questions: What are the main characteristics of migration movements in this region? What are the most important theoretical challenges? What are the perspectives for the future? This book begins with an overview of the economic perspective of the Mediterranean migration model, with a particular focus on labour market outcomes of migrants. It then presents the original results of field studies on the unintended effects of the EU's external border controls on migration and integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region, before addressing the themes of mobility, migration and transnationalism. This volume focuses on migration with a multidisciplinary approach, with scholars from various areas including sociology, economics, geography, political science and history. This book is well suited for those who study international economics, migration and political sociology.

Compilation of papers on the problematic of Eurabia, i.e. the massive, illegal integration from the south to the north. Sheds light on a multitude of issues, including reactions by right-wing or nationalist parties in European countries, migratory flows within Arab-speaking countries east of Egypt and from the Maghreb, relationships between certain migrants and the Mafia, integration of migrants, etc.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented mass migration to Europe, as refugees from war and poverty throughout north Africa and the Middle East have embarked on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean in the hope of being allowed to start new lives in Europe. This book draws on more than five hundred firsthand accounts to reveal the human story behind the statistics and demagoguery. What is it like to set out for Europe with your family, knowing the dangers you face on the way? Why are so many people willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean? What are their hopes and fears? And why is Europe, one of the richest regions of the world, unable to cope? More than just telling a human story, Heaven Crawley and colleagues provide a framework for understanding the dynamics underpinning the current wave of migration and challenging politicians, policy makers, and the media to rethink their understanding of why and how people move. --

"The Mediterranean in the Age of Globalization is a welcome corrective to the tendency to present globalization as a homogenous concept, and the failure to describe how it operates in specific regions. Ribas-Mateos examines globalization and migration across the Mediterranean, using an innovative, integrated framework so as to map social places by describing how social, political, cultural, and economic forces are embedded within a globalizing environment.The author articulates an original and compelling narrative, mapping the Mediterranean as a global place where international and regional forces are intertwined in multiple threads. In doing so, she identifies two key components of globalization--affecting specifically forms of welfare and issues of mobility--in the context of a weakening European welfare state and the relocation and reinforcement of Mediterranean borders. Nine Mediterranean cities are investigated as ""gateway"" cities, which shape two major effects of globalization: welfare and mobility. The book challenges conventional North-South perspectives, and focuses and systematizes the way international migration should be conceptualized.The originality of the book results from the author's fieldwork, which is rich in descriptive detail, and from a theory centered around global perspectives. Seven case studies in Southern Europe--Algeciras, Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, Naples, Turin, and Thrace--deal with issues related to migration and the welfare state. She also includes two ethnographies that represent two Mediterranean gateways in the North-South Mediterranean division: Tangiers (in Morocco) and Durres (in Albania), which are mapped as border-cities in the global Mediterranean context. Because of its intrinsically multidisciplinary nature, this superb volume will be of particular interest to academics and social science researchers as well as policymakers and international agencies."