Contemporary Migration Research Articles

Chorography of Contemporary Migrations and Fractured Identities in Kamila Shamshie’s Novel Home Fire

Representation in literature goes beyond mere inclusion; it is about providing accurate and nuanced portrayals of different identities. In literature, identity is not limited to a single dimension but encompasses a multitude of factors such as race, gender, sexuality, class, and more. Authors often use their works to explore the intersections of these identities, highlighting the ways in which they shape individuals’ experiences and interactions with the world. This research article examines the theme of contemporary migrations and fractured identities in Kamila Shamshie’s novel Home Fire (2017). The study delves into the complex portrayal of identity in the novel, exploring how the characters grapple with their cultural, religious, and personal identities as they migrate. It analyzes the novel’s narrative and character development using the concept of chorography, which maps and represents spatial and cultural phenomena. The article sheds light on the complexities faced by migrants, particularly those from Muslim backgrounds, as they navigate cultural assimilation, religious identity, and the clash between tradition and modernity. It examines how migration can lead to a fragmentation of identities, exploring struggles with belonging, cultural boundaries, and the impact of political and social factors. The article also investigates the role of memory and history in shaping characters' identities and experiences of migration. It is an earnest attempt to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between migrations and fractured identity of the Muslim community in the contemporary global scenario, contributing to the existing literature on migration studies and identity formations. Through a close analysis of the text, the article highlights the ways in which these fractured identities impact the characters’ sense of belonging and their interactions with others.

Local impacts, global consequences: assessing the mass displacement and migration tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

ABSTRACT Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the region’s dynamics have shifted considerably calling for an interdisciplinary assessment of the reverberating effects at home and abroad. This special issue of Canadian Foreign Policy Journal contributes to contemporary public affairs, refugee, migration, and diaspora studies by offering an overview of the broad impacts underway. The issue’s international authors give readers an opportunity to listen to voices addressing all levels of the invasion’s challenges–socially, politically, and economically–uniting thematic and regional expertise on this urgent topic while making linkages between Canada and the region. Their contributions bridge the disciplines of history, geography, political science, architecture, sociology, public policy, and philosophy. This introductory text provides an initial reflection on the pressing issues, summarizing the broad consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while outlining each author’s distinct contribution. In addition to discussions of the invasion's consequences, it also begins to frame the resultant openings—and challenges—of greater regional pluralism moving forward, as refugees and internally displaced persons leave their homes and interact with new host societies, both domestically and internationally. This special issue looks across the affected region while offering a unique view overseas into the impacts here in Canada.

Savremene iregularne migracije u Republici Srbiji - etički normativni aspekti

This paper examines global and regional trends in contemporary irregular migration, which reflect complex economic, political, social, and security factors, which, as such, reflect on the Republic of Serbia. Analyzing the ethical norms of migration, the author starts from the theoretical framework of Kant's principle of general hospitality, which dictates openness to foreigners, emphasizing that in practice this principle has limitations due to real security and economic reasons. Through the ethical aspects of irregular migration, the author analyzes two categories of mandatory admission - family reunification and asylum seekers. It is shown that states have a moral obligation to enable family reunification, as well as to ensure a fair process for considering asylum applications. When it comes to discretionary admission, the author identifies permitted exclusion criteria (threat to national security, criminal history) and selection criteria (family ties, economic potential, cultural affiliation). Serbia has established a national legislative framework and is implementing best practices, continuing the trend of improving migration management policy. The paper presents current statistical indicators analyzing the current situation on the Western Balkan migration route. Migration ethics requires a complex balancing act between the sovereign rights of states, moral principles, and practical limitations, which is also reflected in the actual policies of liberal-democratic states. Through the analysis of these aspects, the paper provides insights into the ethical and normative aspects of contemporary irregular migration in the Republic of Serbia and lays the groundwork for further research and understanding of this phenomenon.

Contemporary migrations: Walls as a source of (in)security

Contemporary migrations: Walls as a source of (in)security

Unveiling the linkages between housing conditions and outward migration dynamics: A case study

This study seeks to enhance the existing body of knowledge by examining the intricate relationship between housing conditions and patterns of outward migration. By drawing on relevant literature and empirical evidence, the research explores the diverse ways in which housing conditions impact the decision-making process of individuals and communities regarding migration to foreign countries. The analysis encompasses a comprehensive investigation into the influence of housing affordability, quality, availability, and stability on the dynamics of external migration. Methodologically, a mixed approach is employed, combining quantitative analysis of demographic and housing data with qualitative correlation analysis to capture the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon under investigation. The study aims to examine the effects of external migration on key indicators of the housing stock, particularly the commissioning of housing and the provision of living space for the population. A thorough understanding of the complex relationship between housing conditions and outward migration dynamics can inform the development of targeted interventions and policies to address migration-related challenges and improve housing conditions, thus reducing population outflows. Moreover, the research outcomes contribute to broader discussions on sustainable urban development, equitable housing, and social cohesion in the context of contemporary migration trends.

Features of contemporary migration of the population of Ukraine: dynamics, directions, scale, problems

Population movement is an important factor in the socio-economic development of a country and its individual regions. Its geographical characteristics make it possible to identify, as quickly as possible, areas of depopulation and those where population flows clearly increase local and regional resources. In stable conditions, this provides an opportunity for a well-considered migration policy; in emergency situations, this becomes very difficult. The problems of contemporary migration geography in Ukraine are particularly relevant and painful in the context of Russia’s military attack and invasion of the territory of sovereign Ukraine in 2014 and a full-scale war since 24 February 2022. The aim of this article is to attempt to characterize migration in Ukraine, outlining the causes, directions, scale, intensity and dynamics of the processes over as broad a time horizon as possible, with a focus on the two sub-periods 2007–2013 and 2014–2021. Data for 2014–2021 are presented without taking into account the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and part of the temporarily occupied territories in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as these data are not available. According to the study, the number of migrants who crossed the state border of Ukraine only after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine (UN data as of 15.11.2022) amounted to 15.3 million people, of whom 7.6 million remained abroad.

Small Cities: Results of The Struggle Between Two Positions

The destruction of the USSR led to the deindustrialization of Russia, particularly in small cities, including the closure of agro-industrial enterprises closely connected with the disrupted agricultural sector. The reduction/alteration of the labour market in small towns and rural areas caused population outflow, fundamentally distinguishing contemporary mass migration. The scale of moving to gas and oil production areas and capital cities has increased. Significant regional disparities in salaries also became a factor, even seen in the minimum wage (MROT), upon which many calculations and allowances rely. For instance, in Moscow in 2023, it stands at 24,801 rubles, while in the Yaroslavl region, it's 16,242 rubles. The formation of a "service economy" in the guise of a "servant economy" (security, cleaning, resale, catering, food delivery, tutoring, etc.), often yielding good income but not demanding specialised knowledge, is another factor propelling migration from peripheral areas.
 The depopulation of Central Russia, Siberia, the North, and the Far East, coupled with the loss of food security, demanded that the government formulate plans for the country's territorial development. This article analyses two development concepts characterising the discourse within the spatial infrastructure of the country. The first relies on the economic efficiency of investments in agglomerations and the unprofitability of supporting small settlements. Its proponents' arguments were most clearly articulated by E.S. Nabiullina in 2011 when she held the position of Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. This concept continues the traditions initiated by the "young reformers" in the 1990s: what brings quick revenue and reduces costs is considered promising.
 The second concept is based on analysing the functions of small cities as elements not only of the economic infrastructure but also of the geopolitical, domestic political, geographic, and social infrastructure. The article particularly emphasises the works of scholars from related disciplines such as geography and economics, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the role and position of small cities within the socio-economic space of the country.

Migration, Anthropology, and Voice

One of the most striking features of contemporary migration to Europe and elsewhere is the almost complete anonymity of its pro-tagonists. The most immediate effect of this anonymity has been the emergence of the figure of the ‘migrant’ in public consciousness with little attention for national and personal backgrounds. A related effect of this anonymization of migration has been that, without personal identity, the individuals concerned also seem to have no history, leading to a rather de-historicized view of migration in the public debate. The present text attempts to counter these tendencies by focusing on an individual narrative of migration between West Africa and Europe, dating back to the late 1980s. On a more theoretical plane, by reflecting on an individual account the article reflects on the question of voice as one of the most central problems of ethnographic representation, both in migration studies and more generally.

"Il monocolore non esiste": Postcolonial ekphrasis in Igiaba Scego's novel La linea del colore. Il grand tour di Lafanu Brown

Igiaba Scego’s novel La linea del colore. Il grand tour di Lafanu Brown (2020) is a historical novel, a feminist Bildungsroman, a contemporary migration novel and a global, political novel. It is also a novel of colours and images. The aim of this analysis is to investigate the function of ekphrasis – defined as verbal descriptions of visual representations – in La linea del colore. The question is how this literary device contributes to Scego’s pedagogical and political project of rewriting national history from the point of view of the subaltern, black Italians. Like in her other novels, Scego uses the past to illuminate the present. She relocates colonial memory at the centre of cultural debates in today’s Italy, deconstructing official colonial history. By analysing a small sample of ekphrases, regarding both real and imaginary statues and paintings in the novel, I would like to demonstrate that Scego adds new postcolonial interpretations to the described images. By doing so, she expresses ethical, ideological and poetological contents, aiming to convince her readers that the colour line between black and white people has to be overcome. Scego uses a classical literary device, the ekphrasis, to demonstrate that the line of colour is not only present today but also in Italian Renaissance and Baroque culture.

Photo albums: deconstructing narratives of the self, migration, and movable memories

Photo albums, as personal and cultural material objects, are intertwined with ideas about identity and memory. At the same time, the importance of memory in how we shape and make sense of our place in the world that is enhanced through evocative objects such as personal photographic archives (ranging from traditional family albums, to selfies on mobile phones, and beyond) becomes more pronounced in the context of the Anthropocene era in which diverse and unequal global movability (e.g., displacement, border crossing, and migration) has become a defining feature of who we are. Connecting between anthropological studies of border-crossing and migration art, this project explores how in the absence of a photo album, alternative modes of visual archives tell the migrant stories of affective connections to family homeland the past and the present Focusing on specific examples from the burgeoning body of alternative visual artwork by contemporary migration artists in Europe and the US this paper examines how identity and otherness are entangled in an ongoing process of becoming and unraveling as sociocultural norms. Beginning with Appadurai’s observations on how migration of objects precipitates the experience of border crossing this paper looks at how migration art activism empowers modes of resistance to normative exclusionary discourses and current anti-migration practices.

Migration, Informality, and Unequal Exchange in the Context of the Mexico–US Regional Integration Process

This paper analyzes the complex relationship between migration and informality in the context of the Mexico–US asymmetric and subordinated regional integration process under neoliberalism. It argues that one of the main drivers of contemporary Mexican migration is the uneven distribution of the informal sector—and more precisely, the industrial reserve army of labor—among both countries. In this regard, Mexico operates as a strategic zone of reserve and social reproduction of workforce to satisfy the growing labor demand in the United States through migration. This reveals that the reproduction of the reserve labor army is essentially transnational in nature. The main link between migration and informality from below is through remittances: they serve as a fundamental component for family reproduction and for the procreation of a transnational core labor force that exerts pressure on wages on both sides of the border. Within the framework of the dynamics of informality from above, a growing flow of skilled and highly skilled Mexican migration to the United States has been unleashed, accompanied by aggressive government policies to attract talent in synchronization with the strengthening of innovation and knowledge-intensive activities in that country. We conclude that a critical aspect of informality from above, which reinforces informality from below, is the dismantling and disarticulation of Mexico’s productive apparatus in order to rearticulate it to the United States economy through the installation of export-oriented platforms that operate under an enclave logic, with imported components and under tax exemption regimes.

Portuguese as a Welcoming Language

The present study dealt with the teaching of Portuguese as a Welcoming Language (hereinafter PWL, or PLAc in portuguese), showing results regarding the need for public policies on contemporary migrations. One of the developments about this environment, which was (and still has been) created by researchers around this discussion, involves the experience with the extension project entitled “Program for teaching-learning Portuguese as a Welcoming Language (PWL)”, which we describe below. The objective of this work was to share some reflections on the pedagogical practice of teaching and learning PWL in a multicultural and plurilingual context. To do so we brought, to dialogue with us, Acosta-Pereira (2018), Agier (2006), Cabete (2010), Cortez (2018), Gonçalves (2019), Grosso (2017), hooks (2017), Kramsch (2014), Sachet (2017) and Wamser and Rezende (2014). Reflections on the results obtained in this work can contribute to the initial training of teachers of Modern Languages and researchers in education, especially in the didactic and methodological elaboration that meet the needs of socioeconomic and cultural changes, impacted by this mobility.

Entangled migration states: mobility and state-building in France and Algeria

ABSTRACT This article develops the concept of ‘entangled migration states’ as a means of highlighting the centrality of migration governance to state-building processes, the constitution of state sovereignty, and interstate relations. Drawing on the example of France and Algeria, it demonstrates the key role that migration played in three phases of state-building: the colonial period of Algérie française; the Algerian nationalist independence movement; and postcolonial state-building. In the case of France and Algeria, at least three actors constructed and instrumentalised migration and mobility regimes as sources of power and control – the French imperial state; the non-state Algerian independence movement; and the newly sovereign postcolonial Algerian state. A focus on the entangled nature of migration management allows for a deeper historicisation of contemporary migration regimes and draws attention to the central role played by migration diplomacy and transnational governmentality in contemporary migration management regimes, thus calling into question some of the spatial assumptions undergirding the ‘migration state’ concept. The article traces the evolution of mobility patterns and control in the Franco-Algerian case; their relationship to state-building processes; and the implications for rethinking the ‘migration state’.

The Moral Economy of Welfare: Bulgarian Roma Migrants Reclaiming Social Citizenship through Fraud

This paper explores the constitution of a moral economy of welfare through acts of benefit fraud. The structural conditions of contemporary labour, citizenship, and migration regimes in Europe exclude large shares of workers from access to social citizenship and place them in a position of undeserving trespassers of the social contract. Drawing on the case of Bulgarian Roma engaged in precarious labour and short-term intensive mobility between Bulgaria and the Netherlands, I show how labour conditions in both countries and the structures of the welfare regimes effectively exclude them from access to social citizenship and confine them to the realms of informal work, thus putting them in a position of differential inclusion. The benefit fraud in this context has multiple interpretations—ranging from crime through a survival strategy to a claim to social justice. By mobilizing the idea of the moral economy of welfare, I seek to explain how migrants justify their actions not as transgression, but as a claim to social citizenship and a critique of an unjust social and economic order. In a moral economy of welfare, the migrants see themselves as deserving state support both by virtue of being citizens and of being good workers. Being excluded from proper welfare support is interpreted as a failure of both states. In this context, the fraud is framed in moral terms as an act of citizenship aiming to restore justice.

The domestic politics of selective permeability: disaggregating the Canadian migration state

ABSTRACT Hollifield’s ‘migration state’ concept draws attention to the political tension between openness and closure in liberal-democratic countries, arguing that domestic migration policy regimes represent an equilibrium outcome between security, rights, markets, and culture. This overstates national strategic control over migration and borders. Through a case study of recent developments in Canada, sometimes held up as the paradigmatic centralised liberal migration state, we present evidence of growing policy blurring, fragmentation, and decentralisation as migration management programmes have been patched and layered in response to controversies and pressure from domestic interests, including employers, higher education institutions, advocacy groups, and subnational governments. As a result, volumes of temporary foreign workers and foreign students have increased tenfold since 2000. More generally, we propose that a strategy of disaggregation reveals the internal complexity of, and political tensions within, contemporary migration states.

Pour une éthique de la parole dans la «littérature-refuge» : l’écriture impliquée de Marie Cosnay

The “refuge literature” brings together a range of literary productions in which the voices of people who live the experience of exile are heard, as well as those of actors who work on refuge from the perspective of a literature of commitment. This contemporary literature on migration is also part of a literature of intervention, which proposes a work on representations with an ethical and political purpose: a micropolitics of the sensitive far from abstract moral discourses. Instead, it explores new voices and practices of care in literature. In this article, we will focus on the work of Marie Cosnay, whose writing on contemporary migration opts for intervention in the social field, with a desire to face the world, and to give an account of the voices concerned by the migration phenomenon.

Os desafios da educação em contextos de crescente diversidade migratória: (des)ajustamentos, práticas adaptativas e criatividade em escolas portuguesas

Abstract We discuss the repercussions of the intensification and heterogeneity of contemporary migrations, especially forced migrations, in compulsory schooling contexts in Portugal. Our objectives are (i) to identify the major educational challenges arising from transnational migration, (ii) to understand how schools, still very much rooted in an educational-pedagogical nationalism, adjust to these challenges and (iii) to understand the practices of educational agents in complex circumstances and subjected to many constraints. We draw on data from qualitative fieldwork that we have been carrying out for seven years on the settlement and integration of migrants in the North and Centre of Portugal. From the analysis of this data, we found that schools have been gradually adapting to the multiple challenges (support, resources, skills and specialised pedagogies) raised by migration. The discretionary capacity, informality, creativity and goodwill of educational agents have been fundamental to this, often compensating for the lack of guidelines and resources.

Rethinking the migration state: historicising, decolonising, and disaggregating

ABSTRACT This essay (re-) introduces the concept of the migration state and its significance for migration studies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, discussing its intellectual history and relationship to Hollifield’s wider body of work. The authors lay out the main features of the ideal-typical liberal democratic migration state before discussing the extent to which it can be used to describe and theorise a wider variety of migration states, paying attention to the particularities of state development across different cases and regions, but also looking forward to how imperial and colonial legacies may shape future state responses to managing migration and mobility. Drawing on the individual contributions to this special issue, we suggest three theoretical and conceptual moves that can enrich our understanding of contemporary migration states: historicisation, decolonisation, and disaggregation. We discuss how the articles in this special issue engage with the migration state concept in ways that incorporate developments in migration studies over the past twenty years, using the concept to push the field in new temporal and comparative directions that open up the possibility of a more global approach to understanding migration. The essay concludes by looking at the future of the migration state and suggests areas for further research.

Investigating the conditions of vulnerability experienced by migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, India.

This paper analyses findings of the 'PROWELLMIGRANTS'2 project, which qualitatively investigated COVID-19 impacts on migrants' well-being and mental health in Kerala, India. It draws on a novel conceptual framework that combines assemblage-thinking with theories of social contracts in disasters. The paper first explores how past development processes and contemporary migration policies in Kerala, and India more widely, generated conditions of vulnerability for migrant workers in Kerala prior to the pandemic. Next it shows that Government of Kerala interventions, in some cases supported by the central Government of India, temporarily addressed these vulnerabilities during the pandemic. In acknowledging the helpful response of the Kerala government, we problematise its stance on migrant workers during 'normal' times and speculate that permanently addressing these conditions of vulnerability would be a more logical approach. We acknowledge this involves overcoming many wider barriers. Thus, the paper also contains national-level policy implications.

Liquid migration revisited: Reflections on Brazilian mobilities to Australia

AbstractThis paper discusses whether liquid migration, a framework developed to theorise recent patterns of intra‐European migration, is a suitable lens to analyse contemporary migration in other regions of the Western world. It does so by drawing on findings from ethnographic research conducted on the Brazilian migration to Australia, a recent migration wave whose patterns are embedded in a transformed migration context and paradigm. The reflections suggest that, notwithstanding a few differences and nuances inherent to the migration regime in question, the original framing of liquid migration is helpful to analyse and understand contemporary patterns of Brazilian migration to Australia. The contributions of this paper include a reframing of the original dimensions of liquid migration based on contemporary migration patterns to Australia. Based on the Australian case, this paper proposes a new dimension of liquid migration—namely, fluid visa journeys—which addresses some of the critiques of the original formulation of the concept. Finally, this paper argues that the fluidity of contemporary migration patterns to Australia is not a condition migrants pursue willingly, but rather one they are ‘trapped into’.