Abstract
ABSTRACTThe intensification of intra-European migration has more recently coincided with the negative socio-economic consequences of the European economic crisis. The latter has revitalised dormant national stereotypes, employed into the scapegoating of migrants across Europe. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research, this article focuses on young, highly skilled Bulgarian migrants in the UK. Their experiences of internal and external national stereotypes are examined in detail. This article argues that this results in a process of double-sided othering, which has implications upon the identities of young skilled Bulgarians as they employ various strategies to make sense of their migratory choices.
Highlights
The intensification of European integration and the end of the Cold War, have enabled Europeans to study, work and live in other member states, transforming the EU into the epitome of the ‘network state’ (Castells, 2004)
While the literature on the topic is growing, Bulgarian migration to the UK is still less researched in comparison to migratory flows from other Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania
There are two further problems associated with the knowledge of Bulgarian migration: both public and academic discourses tend to mention Bulgarian migrants briefly either in conjunction with Romanians or under the much broader term ‘Eastern European’
Summary
The intensification of European integration and the end of the Cold War, have enabled Europeans to study, work and live in other member states, transforming the EU into the epitome of the ‘network state’ (Castells, 2004). In 2015, Germany and the UK emerge as top receiving countries for young and highly skilled migrants (Club Z, 2015) This change in the pattern of the newest Bulgarian migratory flows is credited to Bulgaria’s membership in the EU and to the impact of the European economic crisis on countries in Southern Europe. Based on empirical data gathered through a multi-sited ethnography with Bulgarian university students and young professionals, this paper has three main goals It will explore the external and internal, socially constructed perceptions that young Bulgarians are subjected to both in their host and home societies in the context of the European economic crisis. I will argue that while young Bulgarians in the UK experience double-sided othering, they employ a range of techniques which allow them to negotiate their identities in that context and to make sense of their complex realities
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