EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The dynamics of international migration and settlement in Europe

The dynamics of international migration and settlement in Europe

Introduction

This comprehensive overview of migration research conducted throughout the IMISCOE network of European research, analyses the influx of various types of immigrants in Western Europe post World War II, mostly to large cities, as well as the reactions of the native populations and governments to the changes and pressures brought about by immigration.

Description

International migration and its consequences have become contested topics in Europe. Not only because the sheer numbers of people crossing borders have increased significantly during the last decades. The phenomenon of migration itself has changed in nature in a globalising world, as have the states and societies that ‘send’ or ‘receive’ migrants.

These changes have given rise to a new dynamic that is not yet fully understood, let alone that policy has adequate answers for ‘the management’ of these new migration processes. There is therefore an urgent need to feed the public and political discourse on migration and settlement with analytical and theoretical insights, and concomitant empirical data from research.

This is exactly one of the tasks of the network of Excellence IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe), funded by the European Commission. This publication is the first joint endeavour of the IMISCOE Network. It is a state of the art of migration related research with a main focus on Europe and sets out directions for future research, from both scientific and policy perspectives.

Suggested readings:

Lucassen, L., D. Feldman and J. Oltmer (eds). Paths of integration. Migrants in Western Europe (1880-2004). IMISCOE Research. Amsterdam: AUP.
Rainer Bauböck, Eva Ersböll, Kees Groenendijk, Harald Waldrauch (eds). Acquisition and Loss of Nationality. Volume 1: Comparative Analyses Policies and Trends in 15 European Countries. IMISCOE Research. Amsterdam: AUP
Rainer Bauböck, Eva Ersböll, Kees Groenendijk, Harald Waldrauch (eds). Acquisition and Loss of Nationality. Volume 2: Country Analyses Policies and Trends in 15 European Countries. IMISCOE Research. Amsterdam: AUP
Bauboeck, R. (ed). Migration and citizenship. Legal status, rights and political participation. IMISCOE Reports. Amsterdam: AUP
Penninx, R., K. Kraal, M. Martiniello and S. Vertovec (eds.). Citizenship in European Cities. Immigrants, local policies and integration policies. Aldershot: Ashgate

Background information

To integrate European research on migration and integration and give a state of the art

Methodology

All IMISCOE research teams have made a state of the art of research in their thematic field(s) and specifically of the contributions of their cluster members in this field

EU involvement

Yes

Conclusions

On the one hand, there is a growing amount of research available that is not adequately disseminated and thus under-used. On the other hand, there are significant gaps in empirical data and, more importantly, there is also the general recognition that research still fails to produce comprehensive insights on present migration processes and their consequences for migrants and their communities, and for countries of origin and destination.

Researchers need to develop new perspectives and comprehensive analytical approaches that enable us to understand better the dynamics of migration and settlement in Europe in the present and future era.

Contact info

Network of Excellence IMISCOE

Publication date

Project finished

/08/2006

Researcher

Rinus Penninx, Maria Berger and Karen Kraal (eds)

Links

Visit the IMISCOE Publication Index website

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Social inclusion & integration