Young migrants’ narratives of collective identifications and belonging

The article sheds light on the intricate relationship between migration, ‘identity’ and belonging by focusing on young migrants in the context of Greek society. Based upon a qualitative study of youth identities, the key objective is to examine their collective identifications, formed through the dialectic of self-identification and categorization. The analysis of young migrants’ narratives unpacks how their sense of belonging and emotional attachments to their countries of origin and settlement are mediated by processes of racialization and ‘othering’

Eurocity London: a qualitative comparison of graduate migration from Germany, Italy and Latvia

This paper compares the motivations and characteristics of the recent migration to London of young-adult graduates from Germany, Italy and Latvia. Conceptually the paper links three domains: the theory of core–periphery structures within Europe; the notion of London as both a global city and a ‘Eurocity’; and the trope of ‘crisis’. The dataset analysed consists of 95 in-depth biographical interviews and the paper’s main objective is to tease out the narrative similarities and differences between the three groups interviewed. Each of the three nationalities represents a different geo-economic positioning within Europe. German graduates move from one economically prosperous country to another; they traverse shallow economic and cultural boundaries. Italian graduates migrate from a relatively peripheral Southern European country where, especially in Southern Italy, employment and career prospects have long been difficult, and have become more so in the wake of the financial crisis. They find employment opportunities in London which are unavailable to them in Italy. Latvian graduates are from a different European periphery, the Eastern one, post-socialist and post-Soviet. Like the Italians, their moves are economically driven whereas, for the Germans, migration is more related to lifestyle and life-stage. For all three groups, the chance to live in a large, multicultural, cosmopolitan city is a great attraction. And for all groups, thoughts about the future are marked by uncertainty and ambiguity

Mobility and Migrations in the Rural Areas of Mediterranean EU Countries

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the ambivalent nature of contemporary migrations in European rural areas. The growing presence of immigrants in these areas is a direct result of the restructuring of agriculture and global agri-food chains. Evidence indicates that while agricultural work and rural settings are decreasingly attractive to local populations, they represent a favourable environment to international newcomers, due to the higher chances to access livelihood resources. The non-visibility and informality that characterise rural settings and agricultural work arrangements provide on the one side opportunities for employment, while also fostering illegal labour practices and situations of harsh exploitation

Globalization and local industrial development in the European periphery: Enterprise strategies in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Over the past quarter of a century or so parts of the countryside of southern Europe have undergone a process of socio‐economic change. More specifically, clusters of small towns and villages in Spain, Portugal and Greece, following on the acclaimed development path of the Third Italy, experienced a mushrooming of new manufacturing enterprises. Industrial growth in these areas was closely associated with the renaissance of industrial districts and a trend towards increased globalization of production. Within this context we set out to explore how enterprises located in peripheral areas are integrated in international production networks. Our paramount aim is to identify the effects of increased globalization upon the depth and characteristics of the embeddedness of new manufacturing enterprises and upon the local socio‐economic milieu. Drawing upon the experience of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, one of the poorest regions of the EU, we argue that industrial growth was initiated by the decision of large‐scale enterprises to move into the area. This relocation was induced by the incentives involved in the regional development policy and the availability of a small army of underemployed males and house‐bounded females. The deepening and widening of the processes of globalization during the late 1980s and early 1990s offered a number of new threats and opportunities to local manufacturers. The 19 enterprises included in the panel not only survived in the face of intensified competition, but were also able to achieve a modest increase in the employment that they provided

Family production and the global market: Rural industrial growth in Greece

Rural areas in southern Europe generally, and in Greece in particular, have undergone rapid economic growth and structural transformation over the last three decades. The emergence of family-owned and run businesses in agriculture, manufacturing and tourism was the common element to this phenomenon. However, the systematic investigation of change in the countryside was hampered by the perpetuation of an artificial dichotomy between economic geographers and political economists. This paper aspires to address that gap in the literature by advocating the development of an integrated approach to the study of social and economic transformation in the countryside. In so doing, we focus upon a case of rural industrialization led by garment-manufacturing, an industry at the vanguard of globalization throughout the post-war era. We argue that the characteristics of this industry are formed not only by the changes in the global market-place but also by institutions deeply embedded in the traditional socio-economic milieu

Albanian return migration: migrants tend to return to their country of origin after all

Based on a research project ‘Analysis of the Albanian labour market' funded by OAED – the official Greek organisation for Manpower. Hatziprokopiou was research assistant. Carried out literature review and drafted the first, second and final sections. Contributed significantly to writing the rest of the paper

The delocalization of production in labour intensive industries: Instances of triangular manufacturing between Germany, Greece and FYROM

The clothing industry, by virtue of its labour intensity and low barriers to entry and exit, is at the forefront of the processes of integration in a global network of production and distribution. During the 1970s and 1980s ‘intermediate’ regimes (such as Greece) benefited from the diffusion in clothing production from advanced industrialized countries (such as Germany); however, this trend was reversed during the 1990s. This is because of the intensification of competition from both developed countries (for high quality products) and less developed countries (for price competitive items), as well as the new threat posed by competitors from post‐socialist economies that are trying to find a role in the ‘Newer’ International Division of Labour. Within this context, this article sets out to analyse to what extent collaborative forms of diffuse manufacture, and particularly triangular manufacturing, may be used in the context of south‐eastern Europe. This article argues that ‘triangular manufacturing’ between the industrialized core of the European Union (EU) (and especially Germany), Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was the outcome of spontaneous entrepreneurial decision‐making. In the main, it was parent enterprises in Germany and to some extent Greek intermediaries who were the main beneficiaries of the emerging triangular relationships. Enterprises and workers in FYROM remained vulnerable and dependent. However, there were also a handful of instances of ‘good practice’, where relationships were beneficial to all the participating parties. We argue that these examples provide lessons for policy intervention both nationally and locally (in both Greece and FYROM)