International Migration Institute

Saara Koikkalainen presents her paper 'Highly skilled migrants and the European mobility industry' in Parallel session IV(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 The paper examines intra-European mobility and migrant agency from the perspective of highly skilled migrants, namely Finns working abroad in other EU15 countries. It is based on a web survey titled Working in Europe (n=364) conducted in 2008, its continuation in 2010 (n=194) and 18 migrant interviews (2011). The paper draws on Karen O'Reilly's (2012) practice theory for international migration. It focuses on understanding highly skilled mobility in Europe through an analysis of the external, macro level structures that ease or impede mobility, as well as the internal, micro level structures that affect the mobility behaviour of this particular migrant group. At the meso level the paper introduces a novel concept of mobility industry, which helps facilitate intra-European mobility. The term migration i

Fabiola Pardo Noteboom presents her paper 'New immigrant groups, integration and forms of citizenship in the global city: the case of Latin Americans in Europe' in Parallel session IV(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond In the last two decades, and with the so-called failure of multiculturalism, an important debate has emerged on the formulation of integration policies for immigrants in Western Europe. While these policies should aim to strengthen the participation of immigrant groups in all spheres of society and encourage intercultural processes, particularly in large cities, in practise, immigrants must assume the entire responsibility of their integration. This paper is based on the results of a recent comparative study on the integration practices of Latin American migrants in Amsterdam, London and Madrid in the framework of their specific local integration policies. Given the international socio-political context, Europe is undergoing a moment of resistance to non-west

Annamaria Nifo presents her paper 'Do institutions play a role in skilled migration? The case of Italy' in Parallel session IV(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics. Co-authored by Gaetano Vecchione. The factors identified by economic theory as determining migrants' decisions appear less relevant to the choices of the highly skilled, a fairly small but significant group which is able to wield a major economic impact on regional economies. This paper is based on the idea that in their migration choices the highly skilled are motivated to look for an area or context able to ensure a higher income and better employment opportunities. At the same time, it should be a favourable socio-economic environment with well-functioning local government institutions. The decisive impact of institutional quality on the level of services, the environment, regional development and the overall quality of life in the destination area has been extensively studied in the literature. Building on such previous studies, b

Gustavo Dias presents his paper '“How to get into London?”: the role played by travel agencies to move Brazilian migrants to the UK' in parallel session IV(D) of the Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond conference How have Brazilian migrants moved into London after the September 11? Who are the social agents and what are the social conditions of movement involved in such mobility? Since 9/11 the EU have reinforced its borders and mobility control in the airports in order to stop undesirable mobile people, including undocumented migrant workers. As a consequence Brazilian migrants have created escape routes to literally escape from that mobility control (Papadopoulos et al. 2008, Frontex 2011). Considering the fact that migratory mobility is not just a matter of network involving kinship and relatives, this paper follows the argument that behind migration there is an informal industry which provides the mobility according to global politics and events (Khosravi 2010). Therefore, through an empiric

Gabriele Tomei presents his paper 'Remaining subjects despite structural constraints: migratory strategies among refugees hosted in Italy after their expulsion from Libya' in parallel session IV (C) of the Examining Migration Dynamics conference During the 2011 Lybian crisis, Gheddafi decided to expel many African and Asiatic workers, forcing them to illegally migrate to Italy as a reaction to the government support of the international military intervention against his regime. As a consequence of that mass expulsion, and under the menace of the regime army, more than 30.0000 refugee arrived in Italy where they all have been requested to seek for refugee status and, consequently, they have been hosted for months into special centres, waiting for the conclusion of the application process under administrative limitations of their freedom and of their mobility in space and time. Despite the strong pressure of these constraining new conditions, some refugees reacted in order to give chances to their own migratory

Hein de Haas presents his paper 'Migration system dynamics: evidence from global data' co-authored by Mathias Czaika in Parallel session III(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond held in Oxford from 24-26 Sept 2013 This paper provides a critical assessment of migration systems theory based on an analysis of global migration patterns between 1960 and 2000. Migration systems theory pioneered by Mabogunje (1970), predicts that migration that one form of exchange between countries or places, such as trade, is likely to engender other forms of exchange such as people, in both directions. This echoes earlier arguments by Ravenstein (1885; 1889) and Lee (1966) that migration in one direction is likely to engender a counterflow in the opposite direction. In this functionalist perspective, migrant networks fulfil a vital role in the process of ‘migration diffusion' and in facilitating return migration and counter-migration (of natives of the destination country to the origin), and this

Hideki Tarumoto presents his paper 'Developing migration systems in Europe and Asia' in Parallel session I(A) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 As globalisation is accelerated in twenty-first century, surely migration systems have been emergent and developed in the globe. But, it is still ambiguous what differences migration systems hold and through what mechanism they appear. Among various factors and actors, we cannot ignore the role of the state. In one aspect, the state seems to be an inhibitor against emergence of migration systems. Not only Western countries but also non-Western countries are struggling to handle massive international migration and to reconcile social issues appearing from it. But in the other aspect, the state takes a role of facilitator for migration systems. It tends to select migrants who can enter and/or stay in the society. What differences of migration systems does the state create? What mechanism does it produce, with relating

Dora Sampaio presents ''Do as I say, not as I do?': analyzing the potential effects of immigrants' representations of the crisis on migration systems' co-authored by Rui Carvalho in Parallel session V(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics The current context of economic crisis is producing multiple challenges, particularly evident in European economies and societies. This has and will continue to influence the reshaping of international migration streams in Europe, both at the countries of origin and destination. These changes can be felt more vividly in those migratory destinations facing major financial constraints and higher unemployment rates, as is the case with most southern European countries, among which Portugal is included. Bearing this in mind, this paper examines how the representations of the crisis may contribute to (re)define the migration pathways of international migrants in Portugal and how they influence the evolution and dynamics of the country's positioning in the European mig

Barbara Pinelli presents her paper 'Violence, surveillance and agency experiences of the women refugees in the Italian reception camps' in Parallel session IV(C) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 This paper focuses on the relation between agency and the process of becoming refugees. In the last four years, I have carried out an ethnographic research in southern Italy refugee camps organized by the Italian government for the detention and control of undocumented migrants, in order to document the violence experiences of women asylum seekers who have reached Italy after spending a period of time in Libya, and crossing the Mediterranean Sea. These women have endured terrible abuses in their trajectory toward Europe; once inside the camps, they are subject to forms of moral and institutional violence, surveillance mechanisms, that shape their subjectivities as women and refugees. In particular, they are exposed to the disciplinary regimes of the camps and the ima

Angeliki Dimitriadi presents her paper 'What kind of asylum and which destination? Afghan asylum seekers transiting from Greece' in Parallel session IV(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 The paper discusses Afghan asylum seekers in Greece and how migrant agency factors in the context of transit from Greece to other EU member states. Labeled in public discourse as transit migrants, I argue that their mobility, when successfully pursued, is more than the sum of structural constraints; they are not only escaping from specific factors but simultaneously pursuing specific conditions. Thus, an element of choice and active participation in the migratory journey is incorporated in the discussion on asylum. The paper draws from two sources, the fieldwork conducted in the framework of my PhD thesis (2009 - 2012) across Greece and the fieldwork conducted in 2013 in Athens, in the context of the project “IRMA-Governing Irregular Migration” carried out as part of a fund

Johan Wets presents his paper 'Changing migration opportunity structures of Roma and their hosting societies: the case of Belgium' in Parallel session IV(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 The overthrowing of the socialist regimes in Eastern Europe lead to different societies, with more freedom on the one hand, but disappearing social safety nets, economic disruption and often booming unemployment, especially amongst ethno-cultural minorities like the Roma. As a result of the accession of Eastern European countries, some communities saw their "migration opportunity structures" change dramatically. This had lead to increasing numbers of Eastern European migrants with a Roma background in other European countries. Roma populations are on a policy level often approached as one homogenous group. The Roma themselves are however an extremely heterogeneous group having different nationalities, speaking different languages, adhering to different religions, having d

Tess Hellgren presents her paper 'Challenging the borders of intimacy and legality: migrant agency in response to Danish restrictions on transnational marriage' in Parallel session IV(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond Based on my 2012 dissertation work for the Oxford MSc in Migration Studies, my presentation will explore migrants' creative agency in response to Denmark's ‘24-year rule' limiting transnational marriage migration. My paper will examine how Danish restrictions have impacted the decisions, identities, and livelihoods of Danish-migrant couples - and how these couples' agentive strategies are creating new migration flows between Denmark and southern Sweden, with implications for regional transnational belonging and on-going legal debates on the balance of national and EU authority. Over the past ten years, immigration discourses have been increasingly politicised in Denmark, tied to the enhanced influence of the right-wing Danish People's Party over mainstream p

Jack DeWaard presents his paper 'Migrants' expected time of residence in receiving countries: a systems approach' co-authored by Guy Abel in Parallel session III(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond This paper bridges recent developments in migration systems theory with empirical work on international migration systems to examine the latter in a theoretically informed way. Unlike in previous research, our efforts go beyond merely examining exchanges in the form of migration flows, and further consider the dynamics which govern these exchanges. We synthesize these two components in a fairly new measure of international migration. Termed migrants' expected time of residence, we estimate this quantity each receiving country in the EU-15 every five years from 1960-1965 to 2005-2010 and disaggregate our results by sending region, subregion, and country. In the process, our work helps to clarify three persistent problems in the empirical research on international migration systems,

Jan-Paul Brekke presents his paper 'Stuck in transit: the Dublin regulation, national discrepancies & secondary migration of asylum seekers' co-authored by Grete Brochmann in Parallel session III(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics Tensions related to a harmonization of EUs asylum policies are reinforced by the current economic crisis. In this paper we look at the interplay between the Dublin Regulation, national discrepancies in asylum policies and individual migrants' strategies. We study mechanisms in the interaction between the supranational, the national and the individual level. The empirical focal point is bilateral secondary migration between Italy and Norway. Interviews with Eritrean migrants, with NGO personnel and government representatives in the two countries provide the basis for a discussion of two research questions: - In what ways is the Dublin Regulation challenged by national differences, migrants' strategies and the current economic crisis? - How does the Dublin Regulation

Anastasia Bermudez presents her paper 'Does migration from Colombia to the UK constitute a migration system?' in Parallel session III(C) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 There is limited information and analysis of contemporary migration flows from Colombia to the United Kingdom, despite the fact that this migrant community has attracted increased research interest in the new ‘super-diverse’ Britain. Colombians are one of the oldest and the second-largest national group within the growing Latin American diaspora in London, and are behind many of the ethnic-based organisations and businesses created by this group. However, little is known about the origins and development of these flows. This paper has two main aims. The first is to track the emergence and development of a potential migration system linking Colombia and the United Kingdom. The second is to explore the role of both agency and structure in this context, in line with current scholarship on migr

Pauline Carnet presents her paper 'The role of both migrants and institutions in an enduring pattern of migration' in Parallel session III(C) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 Based on my PhD, my paper will examine how an enduring pattern of migration is sustained and the role of both social actors and structural factors in the face of this process. Nowadays, international migrants glide between constraints and strategies, regularity and irregularity. Their migration, built on several stages, constitutes a real “snakes and ladders”. In it, Almeria is a stage where it is possible to get "papers". Since the 90’s, this Spanish province specialised in agriculture has centralized the African migrants who are in a precarious situation. How is this possible? 1/ Migrants have the capacity to be mobile and develop strategies to reach Europe and to look for housing, employment and papers. 2/ Spanish governmental institutions fluctuate between control and tolerance re

Mathew Creighton presents his paper 'To move or not to move (when one arguably has the social capital)' co-authored by Fernando Riosmena, in Parallel session III(C) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 Prior migrants with ties to migrants-to-be provide the latter with important information and assistance to move and find accommodations and work in destinations. Individuals with better access to migration-specific social capital are considerably more likely to aspire to and eventually migrate themselves. However, it is less understood why some individuals with access to migrant networks and the associated migration-specific social capital do not “make use” of this social capital and remain in their countries of origin. Among potential migrants, instances of leaving social capital dormant could manifest as behavior (i.e., no subsequent migration) or a change in aspirations (i.e., no longer seeing migration as a potential pathway). As such, they represent an inte

Ya-Han Chuang presents her paper 'Mediating migration: the role of the Qiaoban in the rescaling of the Wenzhou region' in Parallel session III(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 Based on a multi-sited ethnography, this paper aims to provide a nuanced picture of the meso-level interaction between Chinese migrants, their sending/receiving localities, and the Chinese government through the case of Wenzhou migrants in Paris and the Qiaoban - the "Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs." The paper begins by presenting the evolving relationship between migrants and the Qiaoban of Wenzhou. The Wenzhou region experienced tremendous growth in the decades following the economic reform of 1978, which allowed for the emergence of new patterns of migration as Wenzhou residents profited from the local informal credit institutions and cheap local goods to take their businesses abroad. The Qiaoban has used this success to promote the Wenzhou development model, particularly th

Ana Margheritis presents her paper 'The impact of sending states’ transnational policies on migration dynamics: a comparative analysis of South American cases' in Parallel session III(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond The phenomenon of state-led transnationalism (i.e., the policies and programs that nation-states implement to reach out to their citizens abroad) is relatively under-studied within both migration and international relations studies. Although those policies have expanded lately in all regions, the literature is still overwhelmingly concerned with issues that affect receiving (rather than sending) countries, the economic (rather than political) impact of migration, bottom-up transnational practices and networks, and a few cases. The mechanisms of transnational policymaking in the migration area, as well as policy impact on migration patterns and migrants’ engagement in the sending and receiving countries, remain largely under-researched. There is also a biased

Simona Vezzoli presents her paper 'Guyanese migration since independence: Migration policies, migrant networks, and postcolonial ties' in Parallel session III(B) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 Historical migration patterns in the Caribbean saw a transformation in the 1960s-70s as many former colonies gained independence and new migration policies were introduced at origin and destination. If some policies potentially may have reduced migration opportunities towards former colonial states, migrant networks and post-colonial ties established before independence may have acted as migration-facilitating factors to sustain migration. Without overlooking important contextual factors at origin and destination, we could hypothesise that border controls and migration policies, migrant networks, and postcolonial ties should explain in part the variations in migration patterns following independence. To explore this hypothesis, I use data from an in-depth case study