conferece 5-11-2014 milano metropolis

The study of the various aspects of international migration has been one of the main activities of the Institute for Population Research since its foundation. In this field, research has been done on the underlying trends, the causes and the main effects of the dynamics of international migration and some specific situations have been analysed, with special reference to Italy.

E-International Relations, 2017

Moving has been an essential human characteristic since the beginning of history. From the worldwide expansion of hominids departing from Africa 40.000 million years ago to the actual massive migrations of populations, humans have demonstrated that settling is as intrinsic to our nature as it is changing our residence. But this natural impulse has been limited since the establishment of states as the way societies are mainly organized. While it is true that Kingdoms and Empires had borders and their populations had certain ties to these political units (vassalage for instance), borders were not millimetrically delimited lines separating national spaces of sovereignty. With the establishment of states, individuals became nationals and crossing borders (either intra-national or international) was not 'moving' anymore, but migrating. International migration is the process when nationals of a state leave their social unit to enter in –a different social unit or according Abdelmalek Sayad it is the presence of non-nationals in the core of the nation (2004). A similar logic applies to internal migrations too, showing that migrating is a political act not just involving the individual but also states as it has to be with their first principle: controlling their territory. Since then, a complex debate (Massey et al., 1998; Johns and Mielants, 2011) has been introduced in the study of migrations: is migration a decision made by individuals or is it a phenomenon induced by a larger structure?? This article will try to contribute to this debate arguing that the phenomenon of migration is neither directly driven and controlled by states, nor a pure individual decision, but rather it is the consequence of the way the superstructure of global capitalism is articulated. By studying three historical cases representing three key periods of the world-system's development (the pre-industrial, the industrial and the post-industrial eras) it will be argued that global capitalism has been, and still is, the main driver of mass migrations. At the same time, it will be explained that even if individuals are subjected to this superstructure, migration is not an imposition (except in some cases of forced migration) or a pure rational choice, but it is the result of the migrant’s decisions (what it is called agency) taken in the restrictive frame of the global world-system.

Panorama Internacional FEE brings to the debate, in its third edition, the issue of international migration. The phenomenon of human migration has been recurrent in the evolutionary process of societies. Its dimensions, its causes and its effects lie in the fields of politics, economics, religion, the history of climate change, etc. The complexity of the issue is extremely important for the understanding of other historical, political, economic and social phenomena. How can one understand, for example, the formation of national states and their political and economic systems throughout history without taking into account the role of migration flows in the context of all these processes? Given the complexity inherent to the dynamics of migration movements, assigning Global migrations: a constant challenge for the international community |

2014

In recent decades Italy has been affected significantly by multiple, complex and varied migratory flows as a consequence of demographic and socio-economic changes in Italian society. The processes, driven by the country’s social conditions, have more or less over 20 years seen Italy change from a country of emigration into a destination country characterised by significant inflows. As a result of the economic crisis, recent years appear to show a resurgence of emigration, with numbers and conditions differing from the past. Immigration continues to be an integral part of the country’s social and demographic structure; indeed, it is the predominant factor in population growth today. To understand these dynamics, this article analyses historical official statistics taking a medium- to long-term perspective that also considers changes in migratory systems, especially in South Eastern Europe. For a better understanding of the phenomenon, we describe the Italian situation within the fram...

Comparative population studies, 2012

Both migrations and attitudes towards them have deep historical roots. To pronounce the present migration and the economic crisis triggered by derivative bankers in the fall of 2008 as "new without historical precedent" overlooks the impact of patterns of the past on the present and prevents an understanding being reached of continuities and comparisons. It is not migrants who are "uprooted", as some would have it, but historical memory is deliberately being uprooted. This essay starts by addressing the multiple problems of present-day debates about migration and historicising the perspectives. It critiques the anti-immigrant ascriptions, labels and ideologies. It goes on to present the data and discuss the geographies of migrant trajectories in the context of translocal, transregional, transnational and global connectivity. An integrative Transcultural Societal Studies approach will be proposed. The essay will then deal with migrant agency, that is the actions of migrants, criticising "victimization" approaches and argue that Otherness is a resource as well as a framework for exploitation. Remittances will serve as an example of the intersection between migrant agency and states' needs. The conclusion will briefl y place the present in the context of global inequalities, of the economic aspect and of anti-immigrantism, as well as the ideological national-essentialist aspect.

RUDN Journal of Sociology, 2019

The European Union (EU) throughout its history has been the destination of diverse migratory flows. Therefore, migration has acquired special relevance by occupying a prominent position on the EU's political, economic, cultural, and social agenda. The most recent migration crisis of 2015 represents a multidimensional challenge with severe consequences that affect, first, the institutional foundations of the EU (governance, security, solidarity of member states and institutional stability) and, second, the migratory policies of receiving states and the EU itself. This crisis is characterized, first, by the high number of illegal migrants that cross the Mediterranean, and, second, by the humanitarian tragedy and insecurity, which make the sea a grey area and an international reference in the migratory processes. The migration-security equation became a field of applied research and analysis, and at the same time a focus of political debate and public opinion. The article aims at analysing the crisis of 2015 and its consequences, which is done by means of the methodological approach based on the consequences that this phenomenon entails for the EU and for certain member states. The response of the EU is limited primarily to securitization by strengthening the external borders, turning towards internal security rather than respecting international and Community Treaties and promotion of their values, which contradicts the anticipated leadership of this global actor. The authors believe that it is necessary to implement new mechanisms in addition to ensuring greater effectiveness of the existing ones. The migratory processes are of special relevance for the international society in the 21 st century because they affect social, political and cultural spheres of the states that are sending, receiving or transit countries for migrants. The current migration can be considered a mixed one: although its motivations are diverse (economic, political, etc.), there are the same access routes to the countries of destination, the same means of transportation and the networks of traffickers to cross borders. What can be considered different * © C. Anguita Olmedo, P. González Gómez del Miño, 2019.