Globalisation, Migration and Socio-Economic Change in Contemporary Greece: Processes of Social Incorporation of Balkan Immigrants in Thessaloniki

This empirical study examines issues surrounding the integration of immigrants in Greece, in particular in Thessaloniki, as well as looking at migrants in neighbouring countries, Albania and Bulgaria. The book suggests that immigrants' integration should be understood in relation to broader processes of social change, which are increasingly connected to global forces. The transformation of Greece into a multicultural society has taken place during a period of transition and of increasing exposure to the international environment. Within this context, Thessaloniki has become a new home for immigrants from the Balkans in search of new identities. Integration is seen as a multifaceted and dynamic process. The concept of incorporation is critically introduced, in order to analyse both the ways by which migrants organise their lives in the host society and their structural, institutional and cultural conditions. The analytical framework is built upon an interdisciplinary approach that takes into account different incorporation contexts: socio-political responses, the labour market, housing and social space. A number of additional factors are also considered, e.g. the composition of migrant populations, migratory patterns and dynamics, the role of social networks, immigrants' strategies. The book provides an empirical account of the immigrants' characteristics, explaining the patterns and typologies of immigrants' integration in Greece. "Immigrants" become a social category "constructed" by exclusionary mechanisms: restrictive immigration policy, labour market exploitation, xenophobia. However, they do make a living in Thessaloniki; their integration is subject to time. Gradually, immigrants become organic elements of the host society, which shapes, but is also being shaped by migration

Labour Migration and other Forms of Mobility Between Bulgaria and Greece: The Evolution of a Cross-Border Migration System

This chapter presents an overview of the Greek-Bulgarian migration system, focusing particularly on aspects of Bulgarian migration to Greece. Although largely empirical, the account is set within the broader transnational context of mobility between the two countries. This appears to be shaped primarily by geographical proximity and is dominated by labour migration from Bulgaria to Greece. However, it is also increasingly characterized by a constant ‘back-and-forth’ movement of people, as well as of goods, services, and money—in both directions. A turning -point in the evolution of this context has been Bulgaria’s EU accession in 2007, which liberalized mobility—potentially diverting the course of population flows towards more advanced European countries—while also reconfiguring not only Bulgaria’s but also Greece’s borders and geographical position in both the Balkans and Europe. Indeed, for the first time Greece is now connected to the EU by land. Within this context, the chapter explores Bulgarian-Greek migration patterns and other cross-border movements and investigates the relevance of circular migration and its developmental potential. Thus, the Greek-Bulgarian case could be evaluated in the light of recent developments in academic and policy discourses on the benefits of circular migration

Migracija i mijenjanje urbanih geografija na europskom Jugu: potvrda na primjeru imigranata u Solunu

The cities of Mediterranean Europe are turning into multicultural metropolises at a time of socio-economic restructuring and urban transformation. This paper focuses on the case of Thessaloniki in Greece, bringing about evidence from various sources, mainly official statistics and fieldwork research that combined quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (in-depth interviews) methods. It examines the processes of socio-spatial integration of immigrants in the city, in order to investigate the relationship between migration and the dynamics of urban change. The specificities of Thessaloniki’s experience are discussed in relation to its distinct features of migration at present as well as to its history of urban development. The analysis sheds light to some characteristics that might be common in other city-cases across Southern Europe. The paper argues that immigration, albeit not the major force of urban transformation, inevitably challenges established social uses of space and alters the urban landscape, producing new or alternative urban geographies, as immigrants gradually form an organic part of the city’s corpus. For Thessaloniki, with its long multicultural past and its painful integration into the Greek national state, immigration today questions the city’s identity.U doba društveno-ekonomskoga restrukturiranja i urbane transformacije gradovi sredozemne Europe pretvaraju se u metropole. Rad se usredotočuje na primjer Soluna u Grčkoj, izvodeći dokaze iz različitih izvora, većinom službenih statistika i terenskoga istraživanja koje je kombiniralo kvantitativne (upitnici) i kvalitativne (dubinski intervjui) metode. Istražuju se procesi društveno-prostorne integracije imigranata u grad kako bi se ispitao odnos između migracije i dinamike urbane promjene. O specifičnostima solunskoga iskustva raspravlja se u odnosu na njegove jasne (osebujne) migracijske crte danas i povijest njegova urbanoga razvoja. Analiza objašnjava neke karakteristike koje bi mogle biti uobičajene i u drugim južnoeuropskim gradovima koji su uzeti kao primjer. U radu se tvrdi da imigracija, premda nije glavna snaga urbane transformacije, neminovno propituje ustaljene socijalne uporabe prostora i mijenja urbani krajolik stvarajući novu ili alternativnu urbanu geografiju dok imigranti postupno oblikuju organski dio gradskoga korpusa. Današnja imigracija dovodi u pitanje identitet grada Soluna, s njegovom dugom multikulturnom poviješću i bolnom integracijom u grčku nacionalnu državu

Moving on: how easing mobility restrictions within Europe can help forced migrations rebuild their lives

Free movement within the Schengen area is a cornerstone of European integration - and indeed an essential part of the European way of life. However, this freedom of movement is limited for forcibly displaced people residing within the European Union (EU). European asylum systems are designed to suppress mobility, which actually prevents many asylum seekers from finding a 'durable solution'. In contrast, enabling legal mobility within and across EU countries, when paired with access to labour markets and ensuring the right to family life, can open new opportunities for forced migrants to settle into receiving communities and truly rebuild their lives. Based on TRAFIG research in Greece and Italy, this policy brief illustrates why mobility is important for displaced people and how it is being hampered by policies and practices. It then suggests strategic ways that policymakers can tap into the potential of mobility to provide additional solutions to protracted displacement in Europe

«تنقُّل مُقيَّد»: واحدة من سمات التَّهجير طويل الأمد في اليونان وإيطاليا: ‘Constrained mobility’: a feature of protracted displacement in Greece and Italy

عادة ما يكون الناس الذين يعيشون في حالة نزوح طويل الأمد في إيطاليا واليونان أكثرَ قدرةً على التنقُّل مما هو شائع عن تنقُّلهم في الخطاب العام وفي السياسة العامة. People living in protracted displacement in Italy and Greece are frequently more mobile than is generally recognised in public discourse and policy

Figurations of displacement in southern Europe: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal networks of forced migrants in Greece and Italy

This working paper is based on empirical research on the Translocal Figurations of Displacement in Greece and Italy. The authors aim to compare protracted displacement in Greece and Italy, looking at the structural forces shaping it and their interactions with migrants' mobility and connectivity. This comparison is based on the analysis of the relations between two contextual variables (governance regimes and host population) and three key variables (mobility, connectivity and marginalisation). In this paper, they present findings from three study sites in Greece and four research locations in Italy. Findings show that protracted legal and socio-economic marginalisation is a key feature characterising the lives of displaced people in southern European countries. It confirms the hypothesis that protracted displacement does not end when forced migrants reach Greece or Italy. Restrictive governance regimes at the national and EU level severely limit mobility opportunities within Greece and Italy and across the European Union (EU). To cope with and resist marginalising and immobilising policies, displaced migrants in Italy and Greece put in place several strategies, ranging from adapting to governance regimes and taking the most out of them to resisting them and finding ways to avoid, bypass or overcome such regimes. In this framework, mobility and connectivity emerge as a resource and a trap for displaced migrants in southern Europe. On the one hand, migrants' strategies of intra-national and intra-EU mobility may help them out of protracted displacement, while on the other, certain types of mobility (hyper-, circular, paradoxical) can entrap, rather than free them. Similarly, local, translocal and transnational networks emerge as a crucial resource for displaced people in Greece and Italy. At the same time, family and co-ethnic networks may also be experienced as disabling, hampering one's aspirations to get out of protracted displacement. Fieldwork in both countries highlighted common factors shaping the relationships between displaced migrants and host communities. We also observed different facets of intergroup relations, ranging from indifference to friendship. The paper concludes by highlighting similarities and differences on the findings from both countries, based on qualitative and quantitative data

EU am Scheideweg: "Europa vor Flüchtlingen abschirmen" oder "Geflüchtete schützen"?

Angesichts der Corona-Krise rückt die europäische Flüchtlingspolitik derzeit in den Hintergrund. Doch die Situation der Geflüchteten an der EU-Außengrenze, auf den Inseln der Ägäis und an anderen Orten an den Rändern Europas verschlechtert sich zunehmend, verstärkt durch die globale Pandemie. Benjamin Etzold vom Bonner Friedens- und Konfliktforschungsinstitut BICC und weitere Forscherinnen und Forscher des EU-geförderten Projekt TRAFIG sind nicht nur über die humanitäre Situation, sondern auch über die Politik der EU zutiefst besorgt. Nachdrücklich fordern sie EU-Maßnahmen zum Schutz der Geflüchteten – und nicht vor ihnen

Reflections on migration, community, and place

This paper explores different conceptualisations of migration, community, and place as an introduction to a themed issue of this journal concerned with the contextualisation of migrants’ experiences across a range of nested scales. The purpose of this collection of papers is to draw out the spatial variability, contradictions, and ambiguities in migrant experiences and to explore conceptual frameworks for understanding the connections between migration, community, and place. The papers focus on local places of social encounter, particularly at the neighbourhood and city scale, but they also draw attention to the value of comparative research to tease out structural differences in opportunities, social context, and policy that underpin commonalities and differences in experience between localities

Nothing is more permanent than the temporary: understanding protracted displacement and people's own responses

Across the world, 16 million refugees and an unknown number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience long-lasting conditions of economic precarity, marginalisation, rightlessness and future uncertainty. They live under conditions of protracted displacement. Policy solutions often fail to recognise displaced people’s needs and limit rather than widen the range of available solutions. This report brings together the central findings of the TRAFIG project’s empirical study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Tanzania, Jordan, Pakistan, Greece, Italy and Germany. We engaged with more than 3,120 people in our three-year project. Our analysis centres around five factors that shape conditions of protracted displacement: 1) governance regimes of aid and asylum, 2) social practices and livelihoods, 3) networks and movements, 4) intergroup relations between displaced people and hosts, and 5) development incentives and economic interactions. We present multiple findings on each of these themes. Moreover, this report addresses gender and classbased differences and mental health related challenges in constellations of protracted displacement as well as political dynamics that impact on people’s own responses to protracted displacement. Overall, our research shows that refugees, IDPs and other migrants by and large find protection, shelter, livelihood support, a sense of belonging and opportunities to migrate elsewhere through their personal networks. These networks often stretch across several places or even extend across multiple countries. While they are not a panacea for all challenges, people’s own connections are an essential resource for sustainable and long-term solutions to their precarious situation. They must not be ignored in policy responses to protracted displacement. Understanding the needs and the local, translocal and transnational ties of displaced people is the foundation for finding solutions that last