Understanding Irregular Migration Through a Social Systems Perspective

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The Study of Irregular Migration

AbstractThe study of irregular migration as a specific social phenomenon took off during the 70s in the US. Since then, the academic interest has continually grown and spread, first to Europe and, in the last years, to other regions worldwide. This interest can certainly be related to the increasing attention paid to the study of migrations more in general (Castles & Miller, 1993). The trend can be linked to those broad and complex social and economic changes, often subsumed under the concept of globalization. The specific focus on irregular migration, though gaining momentum throughout the 1980s, reached preeminent attention in the 1990s. On both sides of the Atlantic, the explosion of the so-called "migration crisis" (Zolberg & Benda, 2001) and the emergence of irregular migration as a widespread social fact raised the attention of public opinion and academics alike. Moreover, in recent years, what seemed at first to be an issue concerning only the high-income regions of the planet, now involves also medium and low-income ones, making irregular migration a truly global structural phenomenon (Cvajner & Sciortino, 2010a; Düvell, 2006)

Ecuadorian Migration in Amsterdam and Madrid: The Structural Contexts

AbstractThe scope of this chapter is to outline the main characteristics of the two contexts that were the scenario of the phenomenon that is the object of this book. The analysis will centre on those structural features of the cities of Amsterdam and Madrid and, more in general, of the Netherlands and Spain, that may have had an influence on the experience of Ecuadorian irregular migrants

Irregular Migration Theories

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Sectoral Views on Migration and Border Cooperation

This chapter contains short expert views on migration, asylum and border cooperation. Roos shows how the end of freedom of movement in the UK could lead to EU migrants coming into the country illegally or slipping into semi-legality or illegality post-entry, and Wolff explores Brexit’s impact on asylum seekers in the UK, arguing that an extensive and generous asylum and migration policy is crucial for the UK to remain a global player. Regarding border governance, Orsini compares current and possible future cooperation at the borders of Dover and Gibraltar; Gomez Arana calls for pragmatism and identity politics being taken into account to manage the border of Gibraltar in the future; and lastly, Irrera warns that Brexit could interrupt the peace process in Northern Ireland, to which the EU has contributed

The concept of migratory careers: Elements for a new theoretical perspective of contemporary human mobility

The article offers a relatively new theoretical framework articulating macro, meso and micro levels of analysis of the migration process, which often are disconnected in the sociology of migration. This alternative approach rests on the classical sociological concept of career. The concept of migratory career integrates structures of opportunities, individual characteristics and networks to make sense of the migratory experience. This concept helps us to fill the gap between scholars of migration and people’s movement on the one hand, and scholars of integration and incorporation in the new country, on the other hand. Migratory career must be considered as an additional concept to the traditional concepts such as integration, assimilation or incorporation, which are mainly focused on the situation of migrants in the receiving country. Furthermore, the use of the concept of migratory career allows to connect the theoretical thinking on migration to mainstream sociological theories.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe